Beyond the Azure Skyline
by imuffinator
Summary: A corrupt mayor, a dangerous city, and two girls fighting for what they think is right. In a world where survival of the fittest plays a huge role, how far would you go to protect the ones you love? YuiAzu, Mitsu, slight Mitsugi, and probably more. AU with canon moments.
1. Prologue: Float On

A/N:

This is my first ever fanfic ever! Inspired by the darkness of AdrenaVeris and my love for the show, somehow this story was born. I hope that you all like it and that I manage to keep the characters as canon as possible (There is definitely some OOCness in it though as it progresses). It takes place in an AU similar to the actual world that they live in and contains some canon events, although they are altered a bit.

Disclaimer: I do not own K-ON; it belongs to Kakifly and KyoAni. If I did…it would still be in the works xD

**Prologue: Float On**

The sound of rain dropping rapidly from the sky muted all surrounding sounds as two figures walked home under their black umbrellas. Barely visible water droplets formed puddles as they collected on the ground. The air had a musty, damp smell that seemed to be engulfed by intensity of the humidity. Unlike most days, the weather had chosen this specific spring day to be chilly and humid. Each of the girls that walked on the sidewalk wore a black dress and had a blank expression on her face. The elder sister had her auburn hair down, her bangs that were normally held back by clips flowed freely onto her face, and the younger sister had her brown hair up in her usual ponytail. The elder sister, Yui, looked back at the Tainaka household with a slight pout before facing forward again.

She closed her eyes as she tried to block out all of her unpleasant thoughts and focus on happy ones instead. The Tainakas had invited Ritsu's close group of friends over to the wake because they were worried that their daughter felt that she was to blame for the tragedy that occurred. Seeing the lifeless body of Ritsu's younger brother, Satoshi, was not a pleasant image that Yui wanted in her mind. Recent headlines popped up into her mind as she unwillingly recalled the horrific news from the previous month that led them to where they were that day.

** Hundreds Dead Following Riot in Central Plaza. Single Survivor found in Critical Condition. **_No, no, I shouldn't be thinking about this._

**Supposed start of Riot due to Mayor's Re-election**. _No, happy thoughts! Happy! _

**No Suspect Yet Found Regarding Beginning of Riot. **_Ngh, happy, be happy._

**Single Riot Survivor passes away at Sakura Hospital**_…Poor Ricchan. To discover that your younger brother was at the wrong place at the wrong time and have this happen to him. I can't bear to think about what would happen if it was Ui._

Remembering the grim details, Yui didn't understand why anyone would ever want to do such a thing; however, what bothered her most was that their Mayor acted like the riot didn't happen and continued trying to appease the upper class so they would support him. An uncharacteristic scowl appeared on her face as she thought about the man.

_Mayor Wada... Ever since he was first elected four years ago, he hasn't done anything for this city. All he cares about is what makes him look good.  
_  
A slight tug on her sleeve snapped her out of her thoughts and diverted her attention to the girl next to her.

"Onee-chan?" her sister whispered, a concerned tone clearly sounding in her voice.

Yui looked into her sister's worried eyes and gave her a smile to reassure her before grabbing onto her hand and running forward.

"Let's go, Ui! Home sweet home awaits us!"

Yui heard the ponytailed girl giggle as they ran, their umbrellas now barely covering them as the water droplets attacked them from all sides. The sky had a silvery tone and was covered with various dark grey clouds that seemed to move as the girls did. It seemed to perfectly fit the melancholy atmosphere of the day. When she left her friends back at Ritsu's home, the three girls had been sitting around a table in silence_._ Ritsu's eyes had a glazed look the entire time that they were there; meanwhile Mio and Mugi just gave her occasional worried glances. Yui had brought her sister along to ease some tension and also because she did not want the girl to stay home alone during these eyes looked up into the sky as the footsteps behind her began to gradually slow down.

_I wonder if they're still sitting there...They all looked so empty. It was scary seeing the lack of emotion in their faces._

Noticing that her sister had suddenly stopped walking altogether, Yui turned around to face her with a confused look.

"Ne, what's wrong, Ui?"

The younger girl looked up at her with a slight smile before rubbing the back of her head.

"S-sorry, Onee-chan I need to stop by the store. I accidentally forgot to buy eggs so I need to go back!" Ui bowed as she apologized. Yui looked at her sister for a few seconds before giggling.

"Hehe, it's alright, Ui. Let's go!"

Yui gave her sister a warm smile as she walked up to her.

"No, no, it's getting late, onee-chan."

"Ehhh? B-but I'm not about to let my sweet little sister go all alone!"

"Don't worry onee-chan, I'll be alright! Besides I wouldn't want to take up time that you should use to get ready for next week!"

"Oh no, I forgot! We start school next week don't we?" Yui scratched her head.

_That's right, how did I forget?_

"Yes, we do," Ui smiled warmly at her before continuing, "That's why you need to go home and get ready! I want to make sure that your new uniform fits so I have to time get you a new one if necessary, besides onee-chan, the store is only a few minutes away from our house. I'll be fine."

"Hmm, um…well, when you put it that way…" Yui trailed off.

_I mean she's right, it's only a few minutes away…not like anything bad can happen in such a peaceful side of town, right? _

The elder sisterhesitated slightly before continuing, "Just be careful, ne?"

"Don't worry Onee-chan. I'm always careful," Ui said while slightly nodding.

Yui watched her younger sister nod and smile back before turning around and running the opposite way.

_Hehe, Ui needs to relax a bit she's always working so hard… I know she's nervous about entering the same school as me, but wow... maybe I can clean up the house in order to help her relax a bit!_

A bright grin appeared on Yui's face as she pumped her fist into the air.

_Don't worry, Ui! Your onee-chan will help you out! That's a guarantee!_

Yui grinned to herself as she ignored her umbrella and raced off into the rain. She did not care that she was getting soaked from the lack of coverage, all that mattered to her was thinking of ways to help relieve her sister's stress.

**~ K-ON! ~  
**

A Gibson heritage cherry sunburst guitar lay forgotten on the couch as its owner rolled around on the wooden floor. Yui had been playing with Gitah for at least an hour, she had forgotten to clean the house, but that wasn't the problem. A worried frown adorned Yui's face as she continued rolling around.  
_  
Ui was supposed to be back ages ago…she hasn't even called._

A distant buzzing noise caught her attention as she noticed that her phone was vibrating on the table. Hope streamed through her system as she hurriedly crawled over to it. The anxious girl bumped her head on the table as she approached it. She vigorously rubbed her head as her other hand reached up to grab her phone. Without checking the caller ID, Yui hastily opened it and answered the call.

"H-Hello, Ui? W-where are you?"

"Eh? This isn't Ui, its Mio… Err, Yui I think you should turn your television on to the news…"

"Mio-chan? Is everything okay?"

"I…really think that you should look. It might be better if you see it with your own eyes."

The hesitancy in the bassist's voice sent a wave of panic through Yui's body as she turned the television on. She flipped the channel to the news and nearly dropped the phone in her hand.

_"I am here live in front of 711 where a shooting seems to have taken place. A masked vigilante was spotted coming into the store with a group of men and threatening to rob the place. It appears that one young girl had attempted to step up and stop the thieves, but was injured in the process. According to witnesses, she stepped between the men and a woman that was being harassed when they began to attack her for getting involved. At the moment she is being transferred to Sakura Hospital while we try to gather more details. As the story continues to unfold the police are looking at security cameras in hopes that we have evidence to apprehend these criminals."  
_  
The black haired woman on the television looked back at the ambulance that showed paramedics wheeling a bloodied brown haired girl into it. At the sight of the girl's familiar face, Yui felt her insides clench and something rising up in her throat.

_Please tell me that this is just a dream. There's no way that the person in that stretcher is Ui. I mean Ui went to WokMart…right? _

Her eyes continued widening in horror as the camera zoomed in toward the person being wheeled over. She shook her head violently to clear unpleasant thoughts.

_No, it's not Ui. That girl just happens to have her…brown hair up in a pigtail. _

Blank chocolate eyes locked onto the unconscious bloody features of the person being hooked up to an oxygen tank. There was no way that she could deny the truth any longer. With this, she felt the urge to run over to the sink and clear her stomach of its contents, but her legs felt like lead weight that did not want her to move.

_It's just a horrible dream that will end at any second and get rid of this hollow feeling I'm having…right?_

Tears welled up in her eyes as her vision of the ambulance blurred and the newswoman reappeared on the screen.

_No, there is no live sign flashing at the corner of the screen…. and Ui is not lying in a stretcher. It's just a dream! …Right?_

Yui tore her eyes away from the corner of the screen and tried to shakily focus on the other things in view. With her heart pounding loudly in her ears and her vision slowly starting to blur, she began to ease her breathing to calm herself.

_Everything's going to be okay…and Ui is going to walk right through that door with a shopping bag…right?_

Brown eyes looked over at the door expectantly, but after a minute of silence, she sniffled and began to tremble.

Yui distantly listened as the bassist struggled with someone for the control of her phone. She blinked back tears as she remembered that she was on the phone while she waited for the voice on the other end to continue talking.

"Ugh, let go idiot!"

"No! This is importa- Ack! Just give me the phone, Mio!"

The ensuing silence led Yui to check her phone to make sure that it was still ringing. When she saw that the call was still in progress, she slowly lifted her phone back up to her head.

"Oi, Yui, you there?"

The brunette looked at the phone in her hands as she tacked a name onto the familiar voice.

_Ricchan..._

"H-Hai, I'm h-here, Ricchan. W-what should I do..?"

Yui flinched when she heard voice crack and felt warm liquid drip down her cheeks. Everything was falling apart around her and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

"Just stay calm, me and Mio will be over in a few. Whatever you do, don't panic. It's always the worst thing you can do. Wait a minute… are you crying? Listen here Private, we are at war! In order to help everyone we can't give into weak things like emotions! Do you understand?!"

Yui sniffled before saluting and then giggling to herself when she realized that the other girl wouldn't see it.

"Hai, Captain… We must be strong to…protect those we love…" the brunette trailed off as her eyes wandered over to the television screen. The woman was still talking about the incident and even the other anchors replayed clips of the incident as they started to talk about it. She looked up at the ceiling when the girl hung up. Unable to hold back all of the feelings inside, she began to sob and then gradually burst into tears.

_This is all my fault. Why didn't I go with you, Ui? If I had persisted a little bit more I'm sure that I could have been there and have taken your place._

All she could do was to try to wait for the two girls to show up and head with them over to the hospital. Everything felt broken; she had never felt so useless in her life. After a few minutes of lying down and crying, she resolved that it waiting would not work for her at all; she needed to find her sister. She staggered onto her feet and rushed over to where her shoes where. She looked like a mess, her eyes were puffy and traces of snot were dripping down her nose. She hastily wiped at her face before opening the door and looking outside.

_No, I can't wait for Ricchan and Mio-chan; I need to find my sister right now. U-Ui, I'll make sure that you're okay! _

**~K-ON! ~  
**

The days following Ui's injury, Yui spent a majority of her day with her sister in the hospital. After that first day where she had run in looking like a mess with a frantic Mio and Ritsu on her tail, there lay a mass of reporters waiting outside to ask her questions. She merely brushed them off as she made her way into the building. Each time Yui found her sister, she felt her heart break a little as she constantly observed the surreal scene in front of her.

The churning feeling in her gut did not cease, especially since the younger girl would usually be asleep when she visited, her sister always seemed so frail and weak from the drugs that they had given her. Whenever she saw the girl's sleeping face, she felt the urge to stay by her side and keep others away, even doctors and nurses. The ones caring for Ui told Yui that she had managed to come out with a few broken ribs and a broken arm. It was decently good news, but to Yui it was still basically the end of the world.

On the third day, Yui sadly gazed upon her sister's sleeping face, struggling to fight the fact that early in the morning their mayor had edited the story of what had actually happened to make it look like it was Ui acting irresponsibly and that was why she had gotten caught up in the situation. He made her seem foolish in order to push her out of the spotlight that she had rightfully deserved. Growing contempt for the man increased as Yui gazed at her sister's peaceful expression. While Ui slept, Yui gently took hold of her hand as she created a promise to herself. Her voice was soft as she spoke,

"I won't let anything like this happen to you ever again, Ui. You don't deserve it…It should have been me… No matter what it takes, I am going to make sure that you will be safe in the future."

A weak smile graced her face as she saw her sister shift a little in response. Her sister's serene expression kept her at ease, but seeing how bandaged up she was made her uneasy and guilty. Yui made her way toward the window and saw the group of reporters still outside being kept at bay by police officers.

_I wish that people would mind their own businesses. If it was their family or sister, they wouldn't want random strangers interrogating them about things that no one needs to know. Of course Ui is a good person that Mayor of ours just made her seem like a criminal._

She let out a sigh as she glanced up at the clouds outside the window. The white, puffy clouds contrasted greatly with the darkening blue sky.

"Excuse me, Hirasawa-san? Sorry to bother you, but visiting hours are now over."

Yui jumped slightly before turning around to face the two nurses that had walked in. She gave them a weak smile before nodding and walking over to her sister. She gently squeezed her hand before heading over to the door. She could just barely hear the whispers of the two women as she went to leave.

"Poor girl comes here every day, lucky for her that this one is being released in a few days."

"Yes, but is that really a good thing? You heard what Mayor Wada said, this girl is a crimin-"

"Don't say that, whenever she's awake and I talk to her, she seems very polite!"

"Well, you know what they say about judging a book by its cov-"

Yui closed the door to stop hearing the conversation that was jabbing at her insides. She clenched her fist and wiped away the traces of tears as she left the hospital with a heavy heart.

The sky had started transitioning from the dark blue that it had been moments before to a silvery grey. A distant rumble of thunder told her that rain was on its way which meant that she had to hurry. The sweet old lady from next door stopped her before she reached home and gave her a small package.

Gran told her that Ui would be out of commission for a while so she would have to be a big girl and take care of herself. All Yui could do was put up a strong front and pump her first into the air to promise the sweet old woman that she could do it. As soon as she turned her back toward the old woman, the smile dropped from her face at the thought of her sister being gone for such a long time.

After entering her home, she slumped toward the table with a sigh. The entire house was silent because there was no sister bustling around the house working to get something done. Soon after, the soft patter of rain could be heard through the windows. A quiet buzzing noise alerted Yui's attention to the phone in her pocket. She looked at it for a bit and recalled what happened the last time that she had used her phone. It was when she had discovered that her sister had been caught in a burglary.

She opened the phone and before bringing herself to answer it, the brunette took a deep breath.

"Hey Ricchan, what's up?"

"Hey Yui, are you busy right now?"

"…No, not really."

"Okay good! Let's hang out, okay?"

"Wait what? When are you comi-"

"Now! Open the door! I'm getting soaked!"

The sudden knock caused Yui to jump and scramble toward the door. When she opened it, she saw a soaked Ritsu. Her tawny hair was plastered to the side of her face and her clothes looked as if she had taken a shower in them. The girl hastily clambered into the house before removing her shoes.

"Argh, it's really bad out there," the drummer laughed as she shook the water out of her hair.

The drummer continued shaking her head before putting her arms behind her head. Yui ran upstairs to a closet and hastily searched for a towel.

_Did she plan on coming here…?_

Yui walked downstairs and examined the drummer before handing her the towel.

"Well, now that I'm here I'm saying relax… Ui will be okay! She's in a pretty good hospital," the amber-eyed girl laughed weakly as glanced down at the towel in her hands with a sad smile.

_…Ricchan. How badly are you hurting? That's the hospital where Satoshi- _

Ritsu had the look of a person that forced themselves to go through the daily motion of life. Ever since the death of her brother, the boisterous girl lacked the shine in her eyes that had been there in their first year. As the girl dried herself off, Yui could see that partial empty look in her eyes. The two walked over to the table and sat down on opposite sides. Neither girl spoke as they both stared down at the table in a seemingly stagnant silence.

"Yui," Ritsu whispered softly as she looked down at the table.

"Ne, what's up, Ricchan?" Yui remarked just as quietly as the other girl.

Brown eyes looked up to meet amber before the drummer gathered the courage to speak up.

"Yui, I-I have a request for you!" Ritsu half-yelled, her chair nearly falling as she abruptly stood up and placed both of her hands on the table.

"E-Ehhh, w-what?" Yui jumped back, nearly falling off of her chair, due to being startled by the girl's loud voice.

"Yui, b-become a hero with me!"

Yui looked at the girl in front of her with wide eyes. Ritsu had the most serious face that she could only think that the girl was kidding. The guitarist began to giggle as a lack of response. Seeing the serious look remain in Ritsu's eyes made Yui's insides freeze up when she realized that she meant every word of her request.

"I-I mean that we can, uh, help protect people and stuff. We don't have to do anything major just…patrol and stuff! You know, like Captain and Private normally do!" Ritsu continued as she began to nervously scratch her cheek and look down to hide her blush.

All Yui could do was stare at the increasingly embarrassed girl in front of her as she thought of a response to her request.

"A hero..? You mean like the ones who fly around and save damsels in distress?" Yui stalled as she flashed Ritsu a weak smile.

Ritsu slowly nodded before looking discouraged and turning her gaze toward the ground. Yui could see that the girl was really hoping that she would agree. Her brown eyes darted off to the side as she looked for anything to look at except the drummer. What she found was a picture of both her and Ui smiling happily while they sat in front of a Christmas tree.

_Back then…those were happy times, weren't they? What if…this is the answer to all my problems?_A small smile graced itself on Yui's lips as she faced the tawny haired girl in front of her.

"Err- Alright, why not, Ricchan? It'll help me keep my promise to Ui after all!"

"R-Really, you mean it?" Ritsu exclaimed as her eyes widened in slight surprise before she began to grin. Her fists were balled up as she began to squirm in excitement. Yui couldn't help but giggle in amusement when she saw the girl in front of her fight the desire to bounce around and rejoice.

Bringing a hand up to her head, Yui saluted Ritsu to signify that she meant what she said.

"Aye, Captain! From now on I will follow your orders and we will protect innocent civilians!"

Ritsu brought up her hand up to her head and imitated the gesture. The two girls smiled at each other as they finished up their silent promise.

"Haha, perfect, just you wait, Yui; I know this will work out! No one will have to suffer for the actions of our mayor ever again! I mean, beforehand people just stood by as he did cruel things, but know there will be defenders of civilians! There'll be keepers of peace!"

Yui watched as the drummer pumped her fist into the air and continued babbling. _It's been a while since I've seen her this happy… I made the right choice, didn't I?_A fond smile grew on her face as she looked out at the cloudy sky from her window.

_That's right, Ricchan. I know that we can do this. Don't worry, Ui. Never again will I let the carelessness of our Mayor or anyone else get between us. I won't let anyone lose or watch a loved one get hurt! The school year is coming up and all, but I know that I'll be able to do this. With this, I will become the best hero that this town has ever known! That's a promise!_

As both girls sat down at the table to discuss their plans for their newfound partnership, the sky began to clear up outside. The rain halted as the skyline began to fade from the dark silvery color it had been before into a brighter blue. The dawning azure sky in the horizon served as a symbol of hope that symbolized a break in the seemingly never ending storm.

* * *

Hm, well I hope that you all liked it! This is my first time ever actually writing a story for a fandom…I'm more of a "I'll draw my stories" type of person, but I feel like I can really complete this if I work hard. I'd like to thank Genki Collective for recommending my amazing beta-reader Musician74. Hehe, I feel bad that I bother her every week while she's busy doing college work, but she has really taken the time to help me perfect this.

I'd love hearing some constructive criticism. Since I'm still a novice at this, I'd love to hear what others think. Thanks for taking the time to read it! :D


	2. Chapter 1: Leave Out All the Rest

**A/N:** Ahh, chapter 1. It's kind of long. I'm glad that there are people that took the time to read the long length of the Prologue though. Hmm in other news I have started my senior year of High School, so story updates might come slow, but idk it depends on other things also (this one took a bit, but eh life gets in the way sometimes.)

There are so many fluff fics on here…that it must be strange finding a dark one, huh? Well, I'll stop babbling and let whoever is reading this get on with the story.

Oh warning, there's a long author's note at the bottom…It doesn't have to be read, but it would be useful, I guess.

Disclaimer: I do not own K-ON! It belongs to Kakifly and KyoAni.

* * *

_**Chapter 1: Leave Out All the Rest**_

_**Where am I?**_

_The emptiness of the hallway greeted Yui as she turned the corner. With no one in sight, she shuffled slowly through the bare building. She limped over to the nearest set of doors while firmly holding her side. When she pulled her hand away, the sight of blood sent a wave of panic through her body._

_**B-blood? W-when did I get hurt?  
**_

_The auburn-haired girl felt a warm liquid drip down her forehead until it finally landed at the edge of her lip. As her tongue darted out to lick her ever drying lips, the salty iron taste of the liquid that she found startled her. _

_Brown eyes darted around the room in a desperate effort to discover her location. She looked around until she finally found a sign that read "**Budokan Stadium Arena Central Stage**". A small smile tugged at her lips as she reached out to open the door that connected her to the stadium. She finally remembered where she was and why she was there. _

_Their band had finally made it._

_With the help of their club advisor, Sawako, the four of them had managed to book a gig at Budokan. Slight excitement coursed through her system as she opened the door. Looking out from the empty stage filled her with happiness as she continued holding her side. She spotted three familiar figures from the side and ran over to them._

_"Ricchan! Mugi-chan! Mio-chan!"_

_She waved her free hand as she limped over to them. The sudden rush of adrenaline that coursed through her system led her to forget her blood-soaked appearance as she slowly made her way over to her band mates. The bassist, who was the closest to her, was slumped over her bass. At a second glance, Yui could see that there was a trickle of blood running down her face and that her eyes were closed._

_"Mio-chan...?"_

_The feeling of dread returned as Yui panicked and made her way over to the blonde keyboardist. She placed her hand on the girl's shoulder and shook her._

_"Mugi-chan, something's wrong, Mio-chan is-"_

_Before she finished her sentence, the blonde fell away from her keyboard and landed on her back. A dark red stain lay on the front of her white blouse. On her face, Yui could see blue eyes wide in shock and her mouth agape in horror._

_"N-no, t-this can't be happening," She whispered to herself as she staggered back._

_She looked up expectantly at the drummer who had not moved from her drum set._

_"Ricchan...P-please tell me that you're o-okay," She begged, her voice cracking ever so slightly._

_The guitarist made her way over to the drummer and examined her. At that moment she noticed that the tawny haired girl wasn't wearing just any clothes. She was wearing the clothes they normally wore when they went out patrolling._

_**W-wait why is Ricchan wearing her c-costume? W-why is this happening?**_

_"Shocking isn't it?" A cold voice spoke from behind her._

_Yui turned to face the speaker, her side stinging, causing her to remember that she was injured._

_**How could I forget that I'm bleeding?**_

_"You've been careless for far too long. Let this serve as a warning to you," the speaker continued._

_As it approached, Yui noted that it was wearing a long black hooded cloak and was holding a guitar shaped like a scythe. Its clothes gave no clue as to whether it was male or female. Horrified brown eyes watched a figure drop onto the floor next to the hooded figure. Upon close examination, she noted the familiar looking face and brown hair._

_"U-Ui, n-no!" She gasped as she ran over to the two._

_**N-no, not again, Ui you can't be hurt!**_

_Surprise overtook her when the hooded figure slashed mercilessly at her. Her body tensed up in pain as she collapsed next to her sister. The room started to go black as Yui reached out to the brunette lying next to her._

_"I-I failed again, huh? I-I'm s-so sorry."_

_Tears brimmed in her eyes as she looked up at the ceiling. The pain was becoming too much for her to handle and the dark was starting to feel comforting._

_"Don't give up."_

_The warmth of a distant voice brought a small smile to her face._

_"I-I can't. It's too late," Yui weakly whispered back._

_"It's never too late, you can do anything if you put your mind to it," the voice continued._

_The brightness of the light hurt Yui's eyes as she squinted to see the figure leaning over her._

_"W-who are you?" Yui softly asked._

_The slight smile that appeared on the figure's face as it leaned away from her reassured the injured brunette and eased the pain that she felt._

_"Don't worry about it. Just live. You can do it," the voice continued._

_Yui felt warmth on her forehead as the figure gently brushed her bangs out of her face._

_"Everything will be fine, it's all over now."_

_As her body relaxed and a flash of silver quickly consumed her surroundings, she focused on the visible pair of garnet eyes before everything went black._

"Ngh- N-no, NO, UI!" Yui screamed at the top of her lungs.

She sat up and franticly looked around the room. Her disheveled auburn hair stood up at different angles as she gasped slightly to calm herself down. When the realization hit that it was only a dream and that she was lying safely in bed, she fell back onto her mattress.

_That sort of dream again...Why have they been occurring more often? They're getting scarier. _

After the day that Ui was hurt and the week before school started, the two sisters had suddenly lost connections to their parents. Since her father was on the city council, it worried Yui that perhaps he had interfered with something that he shouldn't have, causing him to flee with their mother.

What bothered the elder sister most and often confused her was why they didn't take their children along. The incident that led to Ui's hospitalization had served as a breaking point and snapped the barrier of innocence within the elder Hirasawa. Her chocolate brown eyes portrayed her as being blissfully ignorant to the world, which worked in her favor since it successfully managed to cover up the inner storm that continuously ate away at her being.

_It's been two weeks since we made that promise._

The brunette sighed slightly before rolling around a bit on her bed.

_That dream… I really wonder, did it mean anything? The nightmares only started after the day that Ricchan and I began patrolling… I mean at first we didn't do much but walk and help where we could, but of course nothing stays the same for long. _

Yui sat up and vigorously scratched her head. When school had officially started, the crime rate seemed to increase and the two heroes had become involved in breaking up fights and preventing crimes; it was then that they had realized that they needed a better cover-up.

Increased suspicion arose against them as the Mayor noticed their actions and bashed them for being ignorant fools. Wearing ski masks and hooded sweaters didn't really help the cause of the two would-be heroes because they looked more like hoodlums instead of saviors. Yui scowled slightly at the memory before glancing at the duffel bag next to her bed that contained her costume.

_Thank Mugi-chan for being so kind… she spared us of the costume and tools problem. I still feel bad that the Mayor singled out her father though… just because he wouldn't donate to further the reach of the city council. Looking at the way that Mugi-chan's turned out…her dad can't be a corrupt corporate boss! She's too nice and sweet! I bet he was set up just like the Mayor did with Ui. _

A slight smile replaced the scowl as she gazed at the bag.

_As long as Ricchan and I stay safe, we will have Mugi-chan's full support...hehe, due to her help Captain and Private have become really popular. All people want is a hero… _

Yui wiped the sweat off of her brow before lying down and closing her eyes. With a slight frown on her face, she readjusted herself under the covers and snuggled her head into the pillow.

_Hopefully I haven't woken Ui up. I don't want to worry her this early in the morning._

She listened intently to the silence of the house for a few seconds before sighing in relief.

"..I should go back to sleep...I promised to help Riichuwaaan with the nggehh-" she murmured quietly to herself before returning to the bliss of a dream less sleep.

**~K-ON! ~**

Chocolate brown eyes stared intensely outside the window. The sun's bright rays gave them a slight glow. Yui intensely watched as a small black beetle crawled along the window.

"Oho..." She whispered as she squinted to make sure that she wouldn't lose sight of it.

"Oi, Private Yui. We gonna 'adventure' today?"

The always energetic drummer greeted Yui with a question. Yui turned to face the amber-eyed girl before saluting and answering her.

"Hai, Captain! Today's duty will consist of savoring all the sweets we can!" Yui replied happily.

She wiggled her fingers to emphasize the point and watched as Ritsu began to laugh.

_It seems that Ricchan's eyes have regained some of their shine._She smiled back before remembering that she had been watching a beetle.

"Oh no!" Yui gasped as she returned her gaze to the window.

_It's gone... Mission failed. I salute you, Beetle-san. _

She brought her hand up to her head before turning and observing a girl with long raven hair approach Ritsu. Sensing that violence would ensue, Yui opened her mouth to speak up.

"C-captain, watch... "

Before Yui could finish her sentence, a loud noise could be heard followed by Ritsu's usual yelp.

"...Out," Yui warned, but was too late to stop the hit.

"Really, at a time where the club can be shut down, all that you two worry about is silly games?" Mio nearly hissed her disapproval as her eyes trained themselves onto the two. Ritsu and Yui hugged each other in fear at the sight of her smoldering grey eyes.

"S-so scary, Ricchan."

"A-agreed, Yui."

_If looks could kill, Mio-chan could have killed us a thousand times over with her eyes._

"Haha, it's alright, Mio-chan. Let Ricchan and Yui-chan act as they wish since they aren't hurting anyone," A previously silent, comforting voice spoke up.

Yui looked up to see the blond haired beauty as she smiled reassuringly at them before returning her attention to her tea set. Mio looked down in defeat as both Yui and Ritsu high-fived each other.

"Yet another day to relax, private!" Ritsu whooped.

Yui jumped into the air and cheered. Soon after, Ritsu pulled her into a headlock as they both began to laugh. The playful feeling dissipated when the bassist spoke up.

"Oh, Yui, I've been meaning to ask, how is your sister faring?"

Mio spoke slowly as if she was trying to watch her words. She immediately regretted asking when they all watched Yui's grin immediately drop from her face.

"Oh...she's okay. I mean...her arm will heal soon...but she's doing okay," Yui shrugged uncomfortably as she seemed to suddenly become interested in the buttons on her blazer.

Ritsu ended the headlock as she backed away from her. Everyone looked at her uneasily, but knowing that it would be best to leave her alone, they sat at the table as Mugi began to make tea. The room's atmosphere remained still except for Mugi's occasional movements.

"Oi, Ricchan...the town has been getting more dangerous, ne?"

Yui's question was whispered so softly that it was almost missed by the girl to whom it was addressed.

"Oh...yeah, but that's why we're here! We are the peace keepers! Fighting against Mayor Wa-Ow! What'd you do that for?"

Ritsu rubbed the lump on her head as she mumbled to no one in particular about Mio reigning as a dangerous queen.

"Obviously it's dangerous; I mean...Ui got hurt because the recent increase of robberies around town. I'm seriously surprised that our mayor hasn't done anything about it."

Mio's voice was gentle, but after seeing Yui's blank gaze, she frowned and continued to speak, "Don't look at me like that, Yui; I know it bothers you, but your grudge against the Mayor shouldn't be this major. He did make your sister look bad and all, but he's done a pretty decent job with the city! Also, both of you have a parent involved with the town's council anyway so you shouldn't complain!"

Ritsu made a "tch" noise before giving Yui a knowing look and looking out the window. The guitarist sighed as she closed her eyes and buried her face in her arms. The brunette worked to keep herself from trembling in slight frustration.

_Mio-chan just doesn't understand the reason behind my actions…she probably never will. I mean, it's not like she knows about the complicated situation that Ricchan and I are in. I know that Ricchan's mom is also on the council, but…Mayor Wada is going too far. With his actions becoming worse…The bitter feelings that we share against what he's doing 'cause of his indifference of what goes on in the city is really increasing the importance of our goal…_

Dazed brown eyes stared at the tabletop while her pointer finger tapped on its surface.

To not let the selfish actions of one interfere with the lives of others…Failure isn't an option… even if we have arrest warrants on our heads demanding our capture; it's not going to stop us from continuing on with our mission.

Yui's face remained buried in her arms, but a clink of a plate being placed in front of her brought her attention back to her friends. She blankly stared at the cake placed in front of her.

It had white frosting and looked absolutely tempting to scarf down, but the one part that truly attracted Yui's attention was the red fruit at the top.

"The strawberry is the soul of the cake, right Yui?"

Mio smiled as she spoke in a calm voice. Yui looked up at her friends and then down at the strawberry.

"Y-yup! It's so important that you should only share it with someone that you deeply care for!" She happily giggled before popping hers into her mouth. The fruit's warm juice enticed her taste buds making her yearn for another.

"Hey, Mio, do you want MY strawberry?" Ritsu teased her best friend as she placed the strawberry near the girl's lips.

Yui observed the bassist's face flush a bright shade of red before she snapped,

"I-idiot Ritsu!"

Yui smiled to herself as she began to eat her cake. The normal interactions between her friends put her mind at ease.

"It'll be okay, Ricchan. The pain will stop soon," Mugi comforted the drummer as she rubbed her head. A caring smile was on the keyboardist's face as she removed her hand from Ritsu's head.

Yui slowly put down her fork as she observed the bassist's reaction to the blonde's action. Mio had a strange look on her face that Yui connected to …

_Jealousy…? Why would Mio-chan be jealous?_

"M-Mio-chuan's so mean~" Ritsu whimpered as she held her head.

The airhead observed as the girl faked sobs and rolled around the floor to exaggerate the gesture. A slight silence followed Ritsu's mini performance. Mio coughed slightly to garner everyone's attention.

"Err- so when are we going to recruit more members? I thought that our performance at the opening concert would attract people, but we still have no results," Mio stated to remind the rest about the problem at hand.

"Oh yeah…" Yui rested her cheek on the table's surface as she watched the others.

_We've been working hard ever since school started again. I even used up all of my sweets energy to make sure that I was ready for the concert! I really thought that after talking to Ui and her friend Jun that they would want to join us…_

At that instant, Ritsu jumped up from the floor and scratched her cheek. Her eyebrows were scrunched up while her amber eyes showed that she was deep in thought.

"Well, tomorrow we can don those costumes and try hand out fliers...I mean we still have SOME time left. We can't lose hope! We WILL have a new member by the end of this week!" The drummer enthusiastically exclaimed before she grinned and flashed a peace sign.

Yui smiled along with the entire group as they witnessed their president's attempt to take charge.

"It's time to bring out those costumes again, Mio! Let's hope that you haven't gained weight and that you'll still fit into the hors-, "The drummer continued before receiving a hard hit on the head from a furiously blushing bassist.

"I-Idiot, Ritsu, of course I still fit into that costume!" Mio griped while she turned away from her best friend.

"Heh, it's settled then!" Ritsu grinned, her amber eyes shimmering with success. When Mio realized that she had been tricked, she hit Ritsu again, causing the drummer to utter another yelp.

Returning her gaze to the window, Yui slightly narrowed her eyes as she rediscovered the beetle crawling on it.

_That's right. I need to focus! Failure isn't an option!_

"Ricchan...I think that we should go home now."

The guitarist worded her sentence carefully so the meaning would be ambiguous. Ritsu nodded at her to show that she understood.

"Y-yeah, hurry, Mio. I'll walk home with you, but we need to do it quickly. I have to work on a project with Yui?"

Yui released a breath that she didn't know she was holding in when Mio accepted the pathetic excuse for ending practice. As everyone quickly packed up, no one noticed that a flushed Mio had eaten the strawberry that she had previously been offered.

**~K-ON! ~**

"Good luck, you guys, and be safe."

The four girls had walked in silence as they neared the intersection that separated their paths until Mugi decided to break it as she separated from the group.

Yui observed as the blonde smiled at them mischievously and then watched as she left for the train station. Mio seemed to be unnerved by the statement, but the guitarist noticed that when the bassist glanced at the drummer's calm expression, she was appeased.

Yui bid her friends farewell before sprinting away. She didn't really need to go home since she had her tools with her, but she didn't want to take Gitah when they went out.

The walk home was completely silent and the view of the transitioning sky gave it a calm vibe. The illusion of peace was shattered as she neared an alley when she heard a muffled scream. The airhead peeked in and what she saw filled her with a strong feeling of disgust. What she saw was a group of tall men surrounding a young girl with twin pigtails. The girl looked vaguely familiar to her. She had seen her before, but where?

Yui looked around the street before removing the clips from her hair and putting her mask on. She stuffed her navy blue school jacket into her bag to avoid recognition before she quickly pressed the center of her watch. While waiting for the watch to light up, she pulled down her skirt, revealing a pair of loose black shorts. The airhead couldn't help but smile when the memory of the time she received the costume and her gadgets popped up in her mind._  
_

_~Three girls were standing in one of guest rooms in the Kotobuki estate. Two brunettes were wearing what seemed to be costumes and the blonde girl wore a yellow sundress. _

_"Mugi-chan, you're amazing!"_

_Yui pounced on the blonde heiress after the girl confirmed that she would support their decision to fight against the evil in their city. The brunette's brown eyes looked into Mugi's blue ones as she continued, "A-are you sure you want to get involved in all of this though?"_

"I am completely positive. Lately my father has been… stressed because of the mayor's accusations. I don't support that you two are willing to risk your lives, but please if I can do anything to help… don't be hesitant to ask," Mugi stated softly, a slight blush was on her cheeks because of Yui's burst of affection.

"_B-but Mugi-chan you already got us these cool costumes!" Yui let go of the blonde and twirled around, her yellow cape fluttering in the wind while she did so._

"_Ricchan, you've been quiet for a while, what do you think?" Mugi asked the drummer hesitantly. Her blue eyes seemed to beg for a sign of approval._

_Ritsu looked up at Mugi and stared at her for a bit before grinning and also pouncing on her._

"_This is great, Mugi! Now we'll definitely be safe!" The tawny-haired girl turned to face Yui, one of her arms remained wrapped around Mugi's shoulder. The drummer brought a hand up to her head before reciting, "As Captain, I will protect Tsumugi Ojou-sama with my life!"_

_Ritsu let go of a furiously blushing Mugi and walked toward Yui. The drummer's costume consisted of a black-sleeved, loose yellow shirt that gave the appearance of having muscles, a pair of near elbow length yellow gloves, high-top boots that were black & yellow, and black form-fitting pants. Goggles served as a substitute for the drummer's headband and they were used to push up Ritsu's bangs. However, at the moment, the goggles were over the drummer's eyes and her bangs lay on her face._

"_It looks cool, Ricchan!" Yui excitedly said as she backed up to show off her own costume._

_Yui's costume was similar to the drummer's except that instead of yellow, her costume was colored with an orange sunburst. Both girls had a cape, Yui's cape was red and Ritsu's was yellow. Unlike Ritsu, Yui had an actual mask to wear and she removed the clips from her hair so her bangs would also fall on her face. Their personas were distinguished by a large yellow P that decorated Yui's shirt and a black C adorned Ritsu's. _

_The duo stopped their mindless chatter about how cool they looked when Mugi handed them utility belts and a wristwatch._

_"How do these work, Mugi?" Ritsu asked while she put on her belt._

_The blonde smiled at the two brunettes before holding up the watch._

_"Your two watches are attuned to each other; they will be used as trackers and communicators. For example, if one presses the button in the middle like this..."_

_She placed a finger on the giant P in the middle of the watch. Yui's eyes widened in awe as the P sank slightly into the watch and then popped back up._

_"...Then the other's watch should let out a ring like yours is right now, Ricchan." As Mugi finished the sentence, a shrill ring filled the room._

_Unable to hold back her excitement, Yui launched herself once again onto the blonde._

"_Mugi-chan, thanks for everything!" ~_

Yui continued to smile since she was confident that help was on the way.

_Yeah, thanks again, Mugi-chan._

Hoping that the other girl received the signal in time, she threw her cape on and entered the alley before lowering her voice,

"Oi, leave that poor citizen alone."

The three men looked up in slight shock.

"You and what army?" The one that looked like the leader spoke up and gave her a crooked smile.

_Quick Yui, don't forget the fighting moves that Ricchan taught you._

"I don't need an army. I, Private, will single handedly take you all out!"

Now that she thought about it, announcing that she was there wasn't a great idea. She felt an urge to run because of her blunder, but seeing the girl who was being harassed and her tear-stricken face sent a surge of anger through her body. Following further examination, Yui noted that the girl wore a blue blazer similar to hers with a red tie tucked underneath, a grey plaid skirt, and brown loafers. She had beautiful garnet eyes that were emphasized by her raven-black hair.

_She could be Ui's age_, _but wait a minute…where have I seen those eyes before?_

While Yui stared at the young girl, she didn't notice that one of the men had lunged for her. She noticed him as he approached, dodged his punch by ducking and then in a swift motion, jabbed his stomach with her hand. The unexpected blow caused the man to clench his stomach before she elbowed him onto the ground.

"Damn, You'll pay for that, you little runt!"

The other man looked at his fallen comrade before aiming his attention at her. He picked up what seemed to be a broken bottle and started sprinting, but with quick thinking, Yui pulled out a smokescreen from her utility belt and threw it at the ground beneath his feet. The alley was engulfed in white smoke and recalling what Mugi had told her, Yui remained composed.

_"Calm down, Yui-chan, this is yet another weapon that I've added to your array. If you two were wearing the masks, or in your case Ricchan, the goggles, you would be able to see."_

Yui suppressed a giggle as she watched the man swing his arms blindly all around him. Seeing that he panicked and moved to whirl around in a circle, she brought her knee to his stomach.

The man gasped as he clutched his abdomen, but he didn't have time to catch his breath since Yui quickly dealt the back of his knee a harsh blow. She flinched when a sickening crack filled the air as the man collapsed and howled in pain.

_Ignore the fact that you caused this man pain…remember, he's bad! He was going to hurt that girl!_

Yui shook her head to clear herself of guilt as she continued on.

The smoke was starting to clear up and she knew that the leader was getting desperate. She was filled again with a feeling of disgust when she saw that he had a knife pressed against the previously forgotten girl's throat. The twin-tailed girl whimpered as the man glared at Yui.

"One more step and I'll do it," The man coldly sneered as he tightened his grip on the girl.

Yui froze; she had never been stuck in this type of situation before since Ritsu was always there to back her up. She clenched her fist as she looked down and tried not to panic.

_Ricchan, please hurry. I'm scared… I need your help._

**~K-ON! ~  
**

"R-Ritsu, can I ask you something?"

Ritsu looked at her anxious best friend before examining her. Mio was wearing their new school blazer with a light blue tie beneath her grey vest; the short grey-blue plaid skirt that she wore emphasized her long, slender legs. Unlike Ritsu, who was wearing white sneakers, Mio wore a pair of pink ones.

Seeming to realize that she was being examined, as soon as Mio's grey eyes met Ritsu's own amber, the taller girl blushed causing Ritsu to snicker.

"W-why are you looking at me l-like that?" Mio stuttered as she failed at hiding her deepening blush.

"Hehe, don't worry about it. Any who, you had a question? Ask away, Mio," The drummer tried to calmly reply as she stopped snickering.

"W-what did Mugi mean by good luck? I-is something happening? I f-feel like you've been h-hiding something from me." The bassist continued to nervously stutter as she tried to speak.

_Shoot, it's getting harder to ignore the fact that Mio's suspicions have grown_.

Ritsu jumped away from her intuitive friend and uneasily laughed.

_Heh, I remember the time that she thought me and Yui were together. We had to convince her that nothing was happening when we caught her following us that one time… I can't have that happen again this time, looks like I gotta lie yet again._

"O-oh, she's wishing us luck on the project. We have to pass this one to get a good start for the year, hahaha…" Ritsu's laugh trailed off as she scratched her cheek and looked away. She knew that Mio knew her well enough to note that when she scratched her cheek she was nervous.

_Ugh, what should I do? I hate keeping secrets from her!_

"W-well, if you need any help...don't be afraid to as-"

The bassist had an unconvinced tone in her voice as she started talking, but she what she was saying was cut off by a loud ringing noise. Ritsu felt the blood drain from her face at the tone.

_That's the alarm…_

"...Um I have to go right now. Your house isn't much farther away. I'll text you later, okay?"

Ritsu began to speed walk in the direction that they originally came from.

"W-wait, R-Ritsu!"

Mio called out to her friend, but the drummer was too far to hear since she had started to sprint. The tawny haired girl fished into her bag as she ran.

_Damn, what could have happened to Yui that caused her to ring the distress signal?_

When she found what she was looking for, she looked around the abandoned intersection before placing goggles over her eyes, and removing her headband. She removed her school jacket and skirt as she waited for the stop signal to change. When the red hand turned into a walking man, she sprinted across the street. She looked down at the watch and recalled Mugi's instructions on how to use the tracker.

_~Following Mugi's pressing of the P on Yui's watch; Ritsu noticed that something was happening with her own._

_"Hey Mugi, what's this dot mean?"_

_On Ritsu's watch, the C had faded and it revealed something that looked like a map with a glowing red dot._

_"Well, Ricchan, you, are the white dot. Whoever is receiving the signal is the white dot and the caller is the red. That way you two can find each other." ~_

Ritsu grinned when she saw that she had a clue as to where the dot was indicating. Luckily for her, she knew a shortcut through an alley that could lead her to the dot that appeared on her watch.

_Thank Mugi for being so helpful. We should take her out some day; these things are like tracking devices_.

The drummer placed her cape over her shoulders as she continued sprinting down the street. From the distance she recognized smoke from the bomb that Mugi had given them. So Yui was safe...for now. As the smoke cleared up, Ritsu saw that Yui was wearing half of her costume and that she was facing a man with a look of shock on her face.

_Why's she so surprised?_

Since the man had his back to her, he didn't note her presence. Ritsu put a finger to her lips when she saw that Yui noticed her. She quietly snuck up behind the man and prepared to strike. One of the man's cohorts that lay on the ground tried to warn him, but at that point he was too late to stop the goggled hero from grabbing the leader's hand and twisting it behind his back. The man squirmed in agony as she twisted his arm a bit more until he dropped the weapon. She watched in shock as a raven haired girl seemed to drop from his other arm.

_Oh. So that's why Yui didn't attack._

"Private! Commence position Alpha!" Ritsu yelled the first words that came to her head as pretend orders for Yui to take action.

"H-hai, Captain!"

Private nodded before she picked the young girl up and dropped a smoke screen onto the ground. Ritsu shoved the man in front of her onto the ground and jumped away from him. After lowering her voice, she yelled into the smoke,

"Next time you mess with Captain and Private, know that you'll be in a world of pain!"

Through her goggles, she could see the men clumsily trying to run away before she followed Yui out. The two girls sprinted out of the alley. Yui, who held the young pig-tailed girl in her arms and carried her guitar along with her bag stopped running first to catch her breath.

"H-here, Yu- Private, I'll take her."

Ritsu spoke softly to Yui, but what she received as a reply surprised her. Instead of handing the girl over, Yui slipped Gitah off of her back.

"Sorry, Captain, but koneko-chan won't let go."

Ritsu looked down at the young girl in Yui's arms. She felt her cheeks slightly heat up when she saw that the girl with the round garnet eyes was indeed catlike.

_This kid is pretty adorable. Wait, what am I thinking?!_

"Well citizen, lead us to your home and we shall drop you off!" Ritsu's lowered voice had a soothing tone to it as "he" spoke.

The cat-like girl whispered the directions softly and then walked close to Yui after she was placed on the ground.

_If I didn't know any better, I'd say that the kid is smitten with Yui... Too bad she doesn't know that she's a girl. _

When they reached the girl's home, the petite girl thanked the two and briefly smiled. The heroes watched as she entered her house and then sighed in relief. They quickly changed into the rest of their costumes in a nearby alley and then began their patrol. A comfortable silence remained throughout the patrol until Yui spoke up,

"...That girl. She wore our school uniform, didn't she?"

Now that she actually thought about it, the amber-eyed girl realized that Yui was right and nodded. There was no mistaking that blue blazer and grey plaid skirt. The school had just recently changed the uniform since the principal had decided that the old look was bit outdated. Since both she and Yui owned the same color skirt and blazer as the girl they had rescued, there was no way that the girl was wearing those clothes by coincidence.

The normally content airhead had a sad tone in her voice as she continued, "I'll watch out for her tomorrow and see if she's okay...hopefully she didn't recognize us."

Ritsu glanced over at Yui and what she saw made her uneasy. Instead of the usual smile that was on her face during the patrols, Yui had a blank frown that was emphasized by a glazed look in her eyes.

"Don't worry! What matters is that she's safe and that we saved someone!" Ritsu grinned at Yui to comfort her.

The results from the grin were in her favor because the airhead reverted to her carefree demeanor. The atmosphere of the patrol remained calm as the duo traveled. The only major event that caused the two girls trouble was when a thug tried to rob a man that was going home from work. The evildoer was quickly apprehended when Yui stepped in to distract him and Ritsu knocked him out after kicking him into the wall. After the heroes dropped the thug off at the police station with a note stating his crime, the two had an uneventful evening. The one good thing that Ritsu noticed was that Yui was in high spirits again.

_Heh, that's good though... A sad Yui is a bad Yui._

Before long, the two girls decided to wrap up their patrol and go their separate ways. As Ritsu headed home from their patrol, she couldn't help but wonder about the girl that they had saved.

_If I remember correctly, that girl was wearing a red tie. Does that mean that she's a year younger than us? Will she recognize us? If she does will she tell anyone?_

A quiet buzzing noise coming from her pocket caught her attention as she stopped walking. After looking at the time, Ritsu gasped in terror when she saw that she had 9 missed calls and 10 messages waiting for her.

_Oh no, Mio's going to kill me._

As if on cue, her phone began to vibrate leaving her to panic as to whether she should pick up or let it go to voicemail. Either way, she knew that she wouldn't be able to escape the wrath of the dangerous queen.

**~K-ON! ~  
**

Yui snuck into her home and immediately began to remove her costume. Trying to make as little noise possible, she placed Gitah on the kitchen table and put her bag on the ground.

"Onee-chan?"

A quiet voice broke the silence which brought a small smile onto Yui's face.

"H-hai, it's me, Ui!" Yui happily replied.

Her late night patrols had become so commonplace that her sister didn't mind them as much. Yui finished removing her costume and began putting on her blazer as she made her way up to her sister's room. She saw that Ui was sitting up in her bed and frowned when she located the cast on her arm. Thankfully it was dark and her sister didn't notice the look.

Yui sat at the foot of her sister's bed before softly whispering, "You're supposed to be asleep."

"I-I know, but I was worried..."

Yui pet her sister's head to reassure her. A loud growl tore through the room as Yui went to exit her sister's room.

"E-ehh, Oops, I forgot to eat dinner!"

Ui frowned at how uncharacteristic her sister was being and stood up. Despite her sister's protests, Ui refused to sleep until she knew that Yui ate. Having been dragged downstairs, Yui patiently waited as her sister performed her magic. A tantalizing aroma filled the air causing her stomach to twinge painfully. A smile as bright as the sun appeared on the airhead's face when she saw her sister bring out a bowl of rice with 2 dangos lying on it.

"We don't have much since it's late, but I hope you enjoy it." Ui warmly smiled at her sister before placing the plate down on the table.

"Thanks, Ui! Itadakimasu!"

As Yui scarfed down the bowl of rice, she listened to Ui intently as the latter talked about school.

"Everyone has been great! You were right, it's a nice school! Jun-chan has been really helpful with getting me around it."

"I'm gwad thwat yer gwettin-" Yui swallowed the contents in her mouth and cleared her throat before continuing, "Hehe, sorry I know that you don't like when I talk with food in my mouth, but what I meant to say is that I'm glad that you're getting help!"

The airhead rubbed the back of her head slightly before biting into one of the dangos. Ui giggled slightly at her sister's actions before her eyes lit up.

"Oh, that's right; Azusa-chan was impressed by your concert! Of course, she won't admit it, but I saw her getting into your performance the other day. You would like her, Onee-chan."

Yui smiled at her sister as she talked. The girl seemed so bright and happy, like nothing could ever hurt her. As Yui bit into her last dango, she closed her eyes. Such happiness needed to be preserved and it was the innocence that her sister possessed that led her to keep fighting against the evil that existed in their city.

As Ui talked, Yui continued listening, even though it was getting late and they were growing tired, they stayed up. Before long, both sisters had fallen asleep on the floor, no longer caring what the world around them held or what was waiting for them.

The only thing that mattered at that moment was that they were both safe. The bliss of a dreamless sleep prevented them from seeing the stormy clouds that seemed to clump together for the upcoming storm.

* * *

**A/N:** First off before I actually start anything, I'd like to thank my beta, Musician74 for helping me out with this! Together we worked through iffy points and with her guidance we managed to make it through to the end! Heh, Thanks a lot, senpai! :D

About the uniforms, if you want to picture of what they look like, it's basically the NO, Thank You! ones, except that they're similar to canon 'cause the ties they wear symbolize the year that they're in… This means that Yui, Ritsu, Mio, and Mugi will have light blue ties. As for their costumes, I was bored on dev and decided to draw them out, my name on there is imuffinator. :)

Background info time! 

The story takes place a little bit before season 1 episode 8 which is why a certain pigtailed guitarist has not been formally introduced yet.

Yui is still her airhead self, but she's matured a bit since the incident occurred. Yui's fatheris a member of the city council, which means that he is close to the mayor. Similar to canon, Ui and Yui's parents are never home, which means that their abandonment did hurt them, but it's not something unusual since it happens often.

Ritsu wants revenge for the lack of safety that the mayor has created in their town. Since her mother is also involved with the city council, it creates inner tension because she has a protective instinct to keep her remaining family and Mio safe.

Mugi's still her sweet and caring canon self. Her poor father got caught up in all of the drama because he didn't want to donate (ooh, he's so mean to the council, huh? Heh, kidding). Mugi is supportive of the Yui & Ritsu's ideas and believes in what they do because she also wants the ignorance of the council to end.

Mio's still the same old Mio, the one that is easily scared and worries over many things, but still acts like a dangerous queen. She's from a typical family; neither of her parents are involved whatsoever with the city council…yet. Hmm…we'll see where that goes.


	3. Chapter 2: My Sanctuary

**A/N:**

Whoa, this chapter took a while to come out, but hopefully it was worth it! It's one of the longest probably, but

it's also pretty important. To those who read this thanks for the support! To newcomers, thanks for taking the time! Any who, I will

stop rambling and let the show begin!

Disclaimer: I do not own K-ON! it belongs to Kakifly and KyoAni.

* * *

**Chapter 2: My Sanctuary**

"Azusa-chan, Azusa-chan, is it true? Were you really saved by Captain and Private?!"

"Oh, you're so lucky, Azusa-chan!"

"Do you think you could get their autographs next time you see them?!"

A raven-haired girl's garnet eyes looked up from a paper that she had previously been working on before she greeted the girls that surrounded her desk. A weak smile appeared on her face as she lay her pencil down on the desk.

"Um, sure, but the thing is I probably…" Azusa started, but was interrupted by one of the girls.

"You're definitely going to see them again, right? Like, that would be the best!"

"Wait, no that's not what I was going to-"the pigtailed girl tried to continue, but the group of girls seemed to be feisty on the subject and would not cease their chatter.

"When do you think you'll meet up with them, Azusa-chan?"

Azusa couldn't help but force herself to continue smiling before replying," That was a one-time thing guys, and I doubt that it could ever happen agai-"

The three girls rolled their eyes and nodded briefly before turning away. The pigtailed girl's eyes narrowed slightly before she returned her attention back to her paper. She tried to tune the girl's dissipating conversation out, but failed to do so and she could have sworn that she heard one of them say that she " was holding back details" and that she "didn't want anyone to know about how she was actually closer to them than it appeared."

…_Why are people so gullible? They believe anything that they hear and then they spread it around. Half the time what they hear isn't even right._

Azusa couldn't help but sigh sadly while she used her peripheral vision to see that the group of fan girls had resumed ignoring her. On the other hand, she was a bit irritated because a certain russet-haired girl had decided to spill the secret that she desperately wanted to hide.

"Oi, Azusa, Morning!"

"Good morning, Azusa-chan!"

Garnet eyes looked up to see two girls approaching. They both wore the Sakuragaoka uniform and red ties to signify that they were first years. One girl had russet hair done in two bushy pigtails and the other had her brown hair up in a high ponytail.

"Morning, Ui. Morning, Jun," Azusa smiled brightly at the two.

"Oho, Azusa, it seems that Ui decided to spill your secret to the entire school," Jun chuckled as she placed her hand near her mouth.

"Jun, cut it out, people already told me that it was you," Azusa briskly cut her off as she calmly defended Ui.

"W-wha—?" Jun nervously stuttered as she looked at her with a flustered expression for a few seconds before picking at her tie. As she started mumbling something that sounded like," tch you're no fun", Azusa returned her gaze to Ui, who had not spoken in a while.

The brunette seemed like the epitome of perfection, there were no wrinkles on her uniform and she looked quite awake even though it was early in the morning. The only thing that marred the image of perfection was the white cast on her left arm that contrasted with the navy blue hue of her uniform. From what Azusa had heard during the first week of school, Ui had been caught up in a burglary before school started; she had also heard that Ui instigated the incident and was to blame; Azusa really doubted that this was the case given that the girl was a pacifist by nature, but the brunette showed no signs of wanting to share her side of the story.

A slight smile reappeared on Azusa's face as she looked at her two friends. After all, it was the two of them that took the time to actually be her friends instead of pretend just because "she was in cahoots" with the two popular heroes.

Azusa's garnet eyes stared blankly down at her jacket sleeve.

_That's right... They're the only two that actually tried…_

Bitter memories of how lonely she was the first day of school because everyone seemed to avoid her began to flood her mind.

_From the moment that I got into this school, the only thing that really interested me was the light music club. Everyone else basically ignored me because they were all afraid that if they harmed me in anyway, my mother would get the city council on them…_

_Thank Kami that my obsession with the club led me to make friends. After hearing that recording… I really wanted to do what I could to join up; besides with Ui's help, I'll meet my idol, who's apparently her sister._

The raven-haired girl sighed slightly before tapping her fingers lightly on the desk.

…_I guess I'm a little nervous about that last part. Talking to new people…is kind of hard for me._

_Being an only child and all…and with my parents rarely home, I barely interacted with others while I grew up. I mean I must have inherited their love of music since they both work as part-time jazz musicians, but I really wish that their main jobs didn't dedicate so much time to the city…_

Azusa rolled her eyes as she recalled the praise that she constantly received from teachers and other adults about how her mother, a respected member of the city council, had done a great job at a recent meeting or how her father, the chief of police, did his job well and kept the "criminals" at bay. She frowned slightly while she bitterly thought, _I mean… all I can say the praise is yes and agree, but in all actuality I've been living a life where all my parents have told me to do is "be seen and not heard."_ …_as if they're exploiting and using me for their own personal gain. _

The pig-tailed girl examined the long strands of her waist-length raven black hair. Her petite figure and smaller height gave her a childish appearance. Her appearance added to the fact that since she spent more time with adults than others her age, it was difficult for her to talk to others her age.

_To be honest, if they hadn't given me that guitar when I was in fourth grade…then I probably would be their perfectly brainwashed puppet. Ha, what they didn't realize back then was that the Dakota Red Fender Mustang that they gave me helped me escape the reality that I lived in._

Azusa smiled to herself at the thought of her guitar; it was the one thing that she truly treasured. Playing her guitar distracted her from paying attention the world around her, it was only through the news and the occasional tidbits that her parents let slip that she had heard about the dangers of the city that she lived in. Other than that, her life was far too ordinary and it seemed like what was described by the professional reporters' daily news came from a completely different world.

It hadn't been until she heard a recording of the light music club's songs and attended a school concert where she watched the light music club's performance that her life started changing.

Azusa moved her gaze to look out the window as she recalled her experience with the club.

_That's right... Because I was so fascinated with the club and kept spacing out while trying to decide whether to join it...I ended up in that alley._

Her garnet eyes trailed over to her two friends as the two chatted away. She smiled at the sight of their happy faces.

_In a way, that club has been good and bad for me. Good because I've made two friends. Ui and Jun have been amazing these past few days! I'm glad that we met_.

The smile on her face slightly faltered as she looked down at her desk.

_However, it's turned out badly because I was nearly...assaulted._

Her tiny fists squeezed at the memory of the three men that had cornered her the previous day. If it hadn't been for Captain and Private's sudden arrival she would have probably not been there in her seat at the present moment. A small smile formed on her lips as she thought of the two heroes.

_They seemed nice. Captain was ...decent. Private seemed a bit clumsy, but at least he saved me. From the look of the case he was carrying...he plays guitar?_

Azusa closed her eyes in concentration as she tried to recall the scene where Captain asked Private to hand her over, but had received a guitar case instead. Instead of focusing on the guitar case though, the image of the hero's face when he told her that she looked like a kitten froze in her mind.

_He was pretty cute; I mean I see why all the girls are all over him. Wait...what am I thinking? Ah, I'm becoming one of them. If they found out that Private carried me home...they would kill me._

A giggle escaped her lips when she remembered her foolishness of not wanting to get out of Private's arms the previous day.

"Oi, what are you giggling about over there, Azusa? Having fantasies about you and Private?" Jun teased in a not so quiet voice.

Azusa felt the blood rush to her face as she saw everyone in the class turn to face her.

"J-Jun, n-no of course not, why would you say that!?" She stammered loudly.

"Calm down Azusa-chan, the more you deny it, the worse it looks," Ui calmly stated.

In mere seconds, Azusa's desk was flocked by fan girls wanting her to retell the tale of what happened.

_Jun, I'm going to kill you._

Azusa glared at the russet haired girl who was now trying to hide behind Ui. She sighed as she thought of where to start. Just from the actions of others in her first period, she could tell that this was going to be a long day.

**~K-ON! ~**

"I'm done, I'm done. I can't do this anymore."

Azusa grumbled to herself as she closed the door behind her.

The pigtailed girl was so fed up with people sucking up to her so they could get constant play-by-plays of what happened, that during her fourth period study she ran into the nearest closet in hopes of obtaining peace. As the pigtailed girl examined her surroundings, she realized that she had entered a stairwell and not a janitor's closet.

_Huh, stairs? Oh, they must be for the roof._

Feeling adventurous, the young girl decided to climb up the stairs, what she didn't expect was to find other people in her newfound haven. Her garnet eyes surveyed the scene in front of her.

A map of what seemed to look like a city lay on the ground and three girls were gathered around it. A blonde and two brunettes were sitting in a triangle whispering intensely. Azusa watched in quiet shock as the girls pointed to spots on the map with serious expressions on their face.

After a few seconds, the blonde seemed to sense her presence and smiled up at her.

"Oh, hello there, and who would you be?"

The blonde girl smiled reassuringly at her so she would not be intimidated. Azusa couldn't help but stare in awe at the sight of the girl's shimmering blonde hair and baby blue eyes. The intensity of the girl's eyes was emphasized by the light blue tie that was neatly tucked under her grey vest.

_She's a second year? S-she looks like some sort of princess._

As she gathered the courage to speak, she kept her gaze on the blonde, thus failing to notice the looks that the brunettes shared.

"M-my name is Azusa Nakano. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to disturb you. I just wanted to get away from everyone."

The tawny-haired girl then decided to speak up as to not intimidate the freshman.

"Haha calm down! We were finishing up anyway. Well, I'm Ritsu Tainaka. That over there is Tsumugi Kotobuki and this one ever here is...eh?"

When Ritsu went to point at the other brunette, she noticed that the other girl was gone. She scratched her cheek nervously before returning her attention to Azusa.

"Well, that was Yui, don't mind her. She's a bit of an airhead, but lovable nonetheless."

Ritsu grinned at the young girl so she would not think badly of the missing brunette. Azusa smiled at the two girls and watched as they wrapped up their conversation about the map. She honestly had no idea what they were talking about, nor did she care.

The raven haired girl sat silently, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of the roof; her mind jumping between jumbled thoughts of Private and the mysterious airhead.

**~K-ON! ~**

"Oh, hello there, and who would you be?"

Brown eyes looked up to spot the figure that Mugi was speaking to. Once they took in the familiar sight of the blue blazer, red tie, and waist length raven-hair tied up in twin tails, Yui felt her insides slightly jump.

_Ahh…it's her again._

Refusing to meet the girl's eyes in fear of being caught staring at them, Yui managed to sneak away as the girl introduced herself.

Just as she snuck through the doorway she heard the girl's soft voice as she spoke to the others

"M-my name is Azusa Nakano. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb-"

Yui quickly shut the door behind her and sighed. She sat on the railing of the stairs and slid down. After jumping off at the bottom and exiting the room, she walked down the quiet hall with her hands in her pockets, her face focused as she thought.

_Azusa Nakano, huh? That's a cute name._

She smiled to herself before heading to her next class. She still had some time to kill, but she figured that going early wouldn't hurt. As she walked down the hall, she could hear people talking. A particular conversation caught her ear and caused her to stop.

"Hey, did you hear that Nakano was saved by Private and Captain?"

"Yeah! She's so lucky! I bet she didn't even think to thank them!"

"If I was her, I would have tried to pull away those masks and stared into their eyes...maybe done a little something else."

Yui looked down slightly as she smiled to herself as the girls began to giggle. Her bangs covered her eyes as she walked and continued listening to the conversation.

_So much bliss and innocence... I really wish that I could protect it all… hehe, they really think that we're guys, ne? I know that Ricchan said that it would help protect our identities and earn us respect, but isn't it better to tell the truth…?_

With that thought, Yui froze and blankly stared at the wall for a few moments. Since she had stopped paying attention, she didn't notice the girl that was rapidly approaching her on the other side. Immediately after their collision, Yui watched as her vision became clouded by white rectangles dispersing in every direction.

"A-ah, I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going," Yui stammered as she started picking up the papers.

Trying to neatly stack them, Yui noticed that they all had to do with the recent events of the heroic duo and the mayor. One paper that caught her eyes was a newspaper article that read:

**Captain and Private: Heroes or Nuisances?**

**Private and Captain are two rising stars that are going around the town at the present time. However, are their intentions good or are they gaining infamy? Recently as they have gone around stopping crimes such as burglaries, they have gained the praise of the middle and lower class; however, their  
"heroic actions" have not been praised by Chief of Police Torao Nakano, who said that "These boys are doing great things, but the police can handle any situation so they should step down. They're only making it much more difficult for the police force to work effectively" when asked about his thoughts on the two.**

**At a recent press conference, Mayor Wada stated that he felt that the two young men going around parading as heroes only created havoc in the city. **

**"Those two are the cause of this sharp increase of crime in the city! It would be better if they stopped or else they will be caught and severely apprehended," Mayor Wada stated irritably after being asked about the two.**

**Can the sudden surge of crime truly be attributed to these two masked vigilantes? To the public the two are heroes, but to the higher ups it seems that-**

Whatever it was that it said about the higher ups, Yui couldn't finish reading because that was where the paper seemed to end.

_W-wait…did that say Nakano? No, I must have imagined it… _

Brown eyes looked up to further examine the girl in front of her. She gasped slightly and backed up when she realized who it was.

"A-ah, Wada-San, I-I'm really sorry, I honestly didn't know it was you," Yui stated as calmly as she could.

The black haired girl examined her quietly for a few seconds before slightly smiling. At that moment Yui recalled that she was still holding the article in her hands and nearly let it fall out of her grip.

"Don't worry about it, it could happen to anyone. Just watch where you're going," she coolly replied, that half-smile not faltering from her face. Yui couldn't help but notice her violet eyes shimmering with what seemed to be amusement as the girl lifted up her hand to reclaim her paper.

"A-alright, I'll see you around. Sorry for bumping into you!" Yui blushed as she bowed and placed the paper in the girl's extended hand.

The mayor's daughter smirked slightly before turning around and walking away.

_T-that was a close one. Why is the mayor's daughter so interested in what me and Ricchan are doing? That smirk of hers was scary... It was like she was telling me something._

Yui involuntarily shuddered at the memory of the smirk and then shook her head to clear the thoughts of the encounter as she ran toward her class.

**~K-ON! ~**

"Earth to Yui, hello, Yui, are you there?"

Yui looked up at the blonde after finally snapping out of her trance.

"A-ah, s-sorry I spaced out again, hehe!"

Yui rubbed the back of her head a bit nervously when she heard a sigh of relief come from her band mate. At that moment, Ritsu and Mio were out in their animal costumes giving out flyers while Mugi and Yui remained to see if people would stop by. The room was quiet and since she had failed to hide her blank look, she had worried the blonde. After Mugi gave her a slice of cake and tea, she had walked over to her keyboard and begun to play around with the notes. Yui stared at the chocolate cake for a bit before gobbling it down.

"Ah, Mugi-chan you bring the best cakes~"

To emphasize her statement, Yui began to rub her own tummy. She watched the blonde heiress smile at her before returning her attention the keyboard.

_So bored, Ricchan, where are youu?_

Yui pressed her cheek onto the table and stared at her guitar. She was so immersed in the beauty that was Gitah that she didn't hear the door of the music room open and a soft voice call out.

"E-excuse me, is this the light music clu- Oh, It's nice to see you again, Tsumugi-Senpai."

Noting that the voice seemed familiar, Yui slowly turned her face to see the door. What she heard next made her fall out of her chair.

"Ah, Azusa-chan, it is nice to see you again. Please don't be so formal, just call me Mugi. How have you-"

A loud noise filled the air as Yui made contact with the ground, her leg hitting the chair causing it to also fall over as well.

Mugi looked at her, eyes wide with worry before she continued,** "**Y-Yui-chan a-are you okay?"

The airhead covered her face with her jacket as she gave a thumbs-up.

_If koneko-chan recognizes me, then it's all over._

She heard footsteps approach her before peeking out from under her jacket. In the instant that brown eyes met garnet, Yui felt her stomach do a backflip.

_W-what is happening to me?_

After noticing that there was no sign of recognition on the girl's face, Yui stared at it intently.

_Her eyes, they're really pretty. I just want to keep staring at them… they remind me of strawberries. So sweet… _

"P-pardon senpai...is there something on my f-face?" The garnet-eyed girl timidly asked; Yui noticed that while she had been unable to stop staring, she had caused the latter's cheeks to slightly flush.

_W-wait, did she call me…senpai?!_

When she realized that this was the case, Yui jumped up and beamed. The pigtailed girl backed away slightly, a sweat drop was visible on the back of her head.

"Y-you're so cute! Like a kitty! ~" Yui squealed as she rubbed her cheek against the girl's.

At that moment, the door opened again and the sight that greeted Mio and Ritsu was of the airhead tackling a complete stranger.

The newcomers stared blankly at the scene before looking up at Mugi was covering her mouth and nose; her cheeks were a scarlet shade of red. After she was pried off of the young girl, Yui saw that Azusa was looking at the club members and her surroundings in disbelief. Akiyama Mio and Tainaka Ritsu were wearing what seemed to be animal costumes and there seemed to be a tea set in the room.

Yui smiled as she looked around along with Azusa, something about having the girl there felt right. It felt as if the atmosphere was finally complete.

**~K-ON! ~**

"Welcome, I am Mio Akiyama, the bassist of the band. This is Ritsu, our drummer and the club's president. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The bassist gave Azusa a sweet smile before the energetic girl startled her with a sudden comment.

"Heh, we've already met! So Nakano, you're interested in joining the club, huh?"

Ritsu placed her arms behind her head as she looked intently at her. Azusa observed as the drummer grinned after she quickly nodded.

"Good, good. What instrument do you play?"

Azusa watched the bassist as she looked worriedly at her friend. Since she didn't know the girls well enough, she didn't know that Mio had noticed that the drummer had continued speaking in a gentle tone. Had she been able to read the taller girl's thoughts she would have heard: _Oh no, she's using that voice to try to lure this poor kid in_.

Azusa looked down at the ground as she tried to hide her nervousness.

"I play guitar...I'm not as good as senpai over here, but..." The younger girl began to talk, but then her face became flushed.

"Guitar, huh? So you're like Yui! Here play us something!"

The excitement in Ritsu's voice could be felt as she grabbed Gitah from the stand and handed it to her. Azusa froze up as she looked at the amber-eyed girl.

_W-what? They want me to play right now? In front of my idol? W-what if they don't like it?  
_  
As Azusa nervously reached out to take the guitar, she examined it with a look of shock on her face.

_How on earth did she obtain a $2,000 guitar?_

"G-Gitah…h-he's cheating on me~"

Azusa heard Yui whimper and sweat dropped in confusion. She looked hesitantly at all of the other club members and saw that they were all giving Yui sheepish smiles.

_Well, even if this is strange…might as well show them what I can do._

The club members watched in awe as Azusa nervously seemed to transform when she played. Fascinated gazes followed her as she strung together a melody just by strumming and picking at a few strings.

After finishing up melody, Azusa looked timidly up at them. When she saw the surprised looks on their faces, she felt her heart drop and misinterpreted it as them thinking that it was bad.

"I-I'm so sorry, I know that I'm not good, but I'm sure that I can-" She started nervously, but was cut off.

"Hey, don't worry, Azusa. That was great!" Ritsu grinned.

"Yes, but you still have much to learn," Yui added in, her left hand stroking her chin.

Azusa watched in slight confusion as Yui yelped in pain after receiving a hit from the drummer.

"Really Yui, then why don't you play something?" Mio asked the airhead.

At that moment the brunette put her hand on her back and complained, "Ah, alas, but I cannot, Mio-chan. I tripped on my way to school and sprained my back. These old bones of mine can't take much these da- ack!"

Yui stumbled forward after receiving a playful shove from Ritsu. The guitarist laughed while the drummer shook her head in what seemed to be exasperated disbelief.

"Well, Yui-senpai, I hope to learn from you in the upcoming time that we spend together," Azusa smiled brightly at the older guitarist.

What she did not expect from those words was the reaction that she received. She watched the brunette slowly straighten up and then meet her eyes. The appearance of a slight blush on Yui's face confused Azusa because the older girl immediately turned around and looked away.

_What just happened?_

"Come on everyone, gather round the table," the blonde called as she prepared the tea set.

Confused as to what exactly was happening, Azusa hesitantly followed the statuesque bassist over to the table.

* * *

Five girls sat around a table sipping tea from elegant looking cups and snacking on gourmet looking cakes. The youngest of the group looked around anxiously at the others.

The room's atmosphere was calm and the conversations were composed of simple topics. It was certainly much different than moments earlier when Azusa had nearly thrown a fit upon seeing that her senpais were treating the music room like a play room. However, being coaxed her and fed cake by Yui, slightly altered her idea on the matter. Although it still irked Azusa that they were so relaxed on the issue.

She felt comfortable around the four girls, she didn't know why, but as Ritsu had put it, "It wasn't as If Azusa fit in; it was if she belonged to be with them." Azusa sighed slightly before poking at the piece of cake in front of her.

_I mean...they can't always goof off, right? You can't sound that amazing without practice. _

Every once in a while, she would catch Yui or Ritsu watching her, but whenever their eyes met, they would look away. After a certain amount of silence, Mio decided to speak up.

"...So I heard that Captain and Private were seen again. Apparently they saved some girl who was stuck in an alley with thugs."

When the three people involved tensed up slightly, Azusa couldn't help but look at the brown-haired girl next to her in confusion.

_Why does Yui-senpai seem anxious now?_

Azusa froze up when she saw the emptiness displayed on Yui's face.

"Yui-senpai, are you okay?"

Her voice was full of concern as she asked before waving a hand in front of the girl's blank face. Brown eyes shifted and met garnet in an instant before they looked away.

"I need to go everyone. I'll see you tomorrow."

Azusa watched Yui as she abruptly stood up and walked over to Gitah. As if she sensed that something was happening, Azusa observed the drummer as she attempted to distract them; however, Azusa and the others looked at the airhead with slight worry until she walked out of the room.

"Don't worry about her, guys. Yui just needs to go clear her mind. Any who, Nakano, I heard that you were the girl who was saved...so from experience who was hotter? I heard that Captain is quite the-ack! Mio that hurt!"

Azusa sweat dropped as she saw the bassist withdraw her hand following her attack on the drummer. She smiled slightly when she saw Ritsu put her hand on her head and place her face on the table.

"I-idiot, what if she doesn't want to talk about it?"

To the kohai it seemed that the grey-eyed beauty had suddenly become angry for no apparent reason. It seemed to her that whenever Ritsu showed interested in Captain, something seemed to snap in her senpai.

"It's okay, Mio-Senpai...it was nice. Sorry, Ritsu-senpai, but I think that Private was cooler. I don't know why, but I felt drawn to him." Azusa whispered in a dreamy voice as she recalled her daydreams that involved her savior.

When she noticed Ritsu staring at her with a blank look and then burst into laughter, she was confused. Azusa caught Mugi giving Ritsu a knowing smile, as if the two shared a secret that no one else knew.

"Well, I've met both of them, Nakano! To be honest Private is a bit of a clumsy fool, but Captain is the sexy leader type~"

"E-eh? What are you talking about Ritsu-senpai?! Private is not clumsy at all!"

Azusa stood up slightly and half-yelled in defense of her favorite hero. Seeing that brouhaha would break out if the argument was not cooled down, Mugi spoke up,

"Now, now you two, you shouldn't argue over something so silly."

"B-But Mugi, you gotta admit that Captain is awesome!"

"No, it's Private, right Mio-senpai?"

The entire time the conversation consisted of Mio and Mugi remaining silent as they watched the two girls continue arguing about who was better. Even as the girls walked home, Azusa found herself in a deep argument with the drummer. She found relief in the quiet as she walked alone for the rest of the way. Azusa couldn't help but recall the day in total and smile.

_The light music club was truly unique. I can't believe that we really spent the entire meeting talking about the town heroes…I hope we do something tomorrow…Hm, Mio-senpai seems to prefer neither hero, except she seems to have a certain distaste for Captain. _

Azusa scrunched up her eyebrows as she tried to recall the scene from earlier. After that first time, whenever Ritsu talked fondly of Captain, Mio's eyes flashed dangerously. Azusa shuddered when she recalled the coldness in the bassist's grey eyes.

_Does Mio-senpai have some sort of feelings for Ritsu-senpai? No, can't be… Well, Mugi-senpai said that she was neutral with the topic, though her constant giggling said otherwise. Obviously Ritsu-senpai and I are opposites...but what about Yui-senpai? Maybe I'll find out tomorrow…_

The pigtailed girl abruptly stopped walking and faced the empty street with a blank look on her face. She hit her head softly with her hand a few times before continuing to walk.

_W-what am I thinking? Tomorrow will be a practice day of course! I swear…I don't know what's happening to me._

* * *

The cloudy sky gave the feeling that it at any second it would rain, but the two girls that trudged along under it continued walking slowly. Grey eyes as cloudy as the blackening sky looked up to examine it.

_Rain again? We've sure been having a lot of it recently…_

As Mio and Ritsu walked home, the sandy-haired girl didn't notice that the latter was occasionally glancing at her.

"H-hey, Ritsu?"

"Hm?"

"D-do you really think Captain is...hot?"

Mio looked at the shorter girl for a few seconds before the girl jumped away, placed a hand near her face, and grinned goofily.

"Ohoho, so Mio-chuan has a crush on someone~"

Ritsu smirked when Mio's face instantly flushed, but the drummer wasn't prepared for the upcoming hit. The drummer rubbed the lump on her head vigorously before Mio decided to speak up again.

"O-of course not, men are animals!" she half-yelled.

Ritsu weakly smiled at her before continuing to walk.

_Huh? What was that smile all about?_

"...I guess they are, but sometimes people become animals since they have no choice."

_Ritsu…_

The girl's broken tone made the bassist's heart ache. At that moment, Mio ran up to her best friend and reached out to gently pat her shoulder.

"Ritsu is everything okay?" Mio whispered softly; her grey eyes carefully observed the tawny-haired girl.

Ritsu turned around to face her and stood still, thus, leaving a silent atmosphere between the two. The raven-haired girl observed the latter take in a deep breath before speaking.

"...Haha, so now you're coming onto me, eh?"

A loud smack could be heard before Ritsu uttered another pained yelp.

"I-idiot Ritsu, you always ruin the moment!"

"Hehe, it's what I do best~"

Mio's face was a bright red as the drummer continued laughing until she felt something cool hit her cheek. Pristine rain drops started coming down from the sky as the two girls stood there.

"Come on, Mio! I know that you don't want to get sick, so let's hurry home!"

The shorter girl grabbed her best friend's hand as she started running. Mio followed her friend with a blush and slight smile on her face. The familiar gesture made her heart beat quickly as they raced through trying to escape the rain. The situation was similar to the ones in their childhood where the drummer would lead the bassist away. Mio felt Ritsu squeeze her hand, but since it was momentarily, she thought that she imagined it.

_Oh Ritsu, if only you knew what you do to me._

**~K-ON! ~**

"I'm home!"

The silence that followed the simple sentence left the elder Hirasawa with a hollow feeling. Ui had to prepare for an exam so she was at a friend's house since it would benefit her to study.

_In her condition I'm glad that she has someone to help her. _

She recalled how she had to constantly reassure her sister in order for her to finally give in. After placing Gitah on the couch, Yui approached the pre-prepared dinner that her sister had left for her to finish making.

_Always dependable...I'm truly lucky to have a sister like Ui.  
_  
As the airhead waited for her dinner to be warmed up, she sat by the television and watched the news. It seemed that the public media had discovered that the town's superheroes had saved a little girl.

**"Those two heroes are really helping around a lot aren't they?"**

**"Oh, yes! Why the other day they helped stop a gang fight."**

"**Haha, yes that's true, the mayor is out to criminalize them, though!"**

"**Well, they should understand that fighting crime is for the police only. Kids should not be worrying about-"  
**  
An uncharacteristic scowl appeared on Yui's face as she shut off the television.

_At least we do more than the police! All they do is get involved when everything has fallen apart._

Yui let the remote drop onto the floor and then fell back silently onto the ground so she could stare at the ceiling. The shrill noise of the doorbell startled her causing her to suddenly sit up.

"W-whoa, I'm seeing stars," the airhead mumbled to herself as she staggered over to the door while holding her head.

When she peeked through the hole in the door, she saw no one.

_Eh? Is my mind playing tricks on me?_

Yui opened the door and crashed into a petite figure as she walked out.

"E-Eh, y-you're that girl from before! Uh...Nakano-chan right?"

"S-sorry Yui-senpai, I didn't m-mean to startle you. I-I was just at our friend Jun's house with y-your sister. She said that y-you would be alone so she told me to stop by and check up on you to make sure everything was o-okay."

_Hehe, silly Ui, your big sister can take care of herself!_

Yui smiled to herself and slightly shook her head. Sensing that the younger girl was nervous, the airhead scratched her head and stood aside so the latter could enter her house.

"Well, since you came all this way Nakano-chan, please come in," Yui happily said.

"N-no, it's okay, senpai! Please have a nice day!" Azusa shakily smiled before slightly backing up.

"Eh, but Nakano-chan, it's going to rain soon!" Yui frowned before glancing up at the sky and continuing, "At least let me serve you a cup of tea because you took the time to do this!"

The two girls stood in silence for a few moments as Azusa seemed to ponder her request. Yui couldn't help but giggle to herself when she saw that the girl had managed to relax a little.

"Okay…T-thank you, Y-Yui-senpai…" Azusa's garnet eyes looked into her own brown for a few seconds before they lit up slightly as if she remembered something, "O-oh, by the way,my first name is-"

The kohai started to say, but Yui beamed and finished her sentence, "Azusa-chan."

A blush crept onto Azusa's face when she noticed that the girl knew her name. Yui gave her kohai a sweet smile before an idea crept into her mind that she had wanted to try earlier, but had forgotten about. After both girls were in the house, Yui closed the door behind her and then turned to face the younger girl.

"Oh, oh! Wait here!"

The brunette sprinted upstairs, leaving the latter confused. When she returned, she had something behind her back.

"Azusa-chan. I know that you're a bit jittery from yesterday and walking here alone probably made you scared, but you have to trust me!"

"W-What are you going to do, s-senpai?" Azusa's voice was shaky and her eyes were round with slight fear.

"Hm, I want to see if you are a little kitty after all!" Yui smiled brightly at her before continuing, "Just stay still for a few seconds!"

The pigtailed girl looked at her hesitantly before nodding. Yui then moved in front of her and placed a pair of nekokimi on her head. When Yui's hand accidentally stroked the side of the girl's face, she felt a shiver go through her spine.

_W-what was that weird feeling?_

Much to her surprise, the younger girl had mewled at her touch. Yui felt the blood creep up onto her face as she fell back.

"A-ack!"

Startled by the loud thump, Azusa jumped back, tripped on her own foot, and also fell. Both girls stared at each other; each girl's face was a respective shade of red.

"O-ow, Y-Yui-senpai, are you okay? W-what did you put on my-ACK" Azusa tried to speak but was hugged by the older girl.

"I was right, Azusa-chan! You mewled just like a kitty! Nyan!" Yui babbled with glee while tightening her hug on the younger girl. She pulled back slightly and examined the girl's surprised face before adding, "You're so adorable...Azu...nyan. Yes, that's it! Azunyan!"

The older girl rubbed her cheek against the younger. Pleasant shivers shot through Yui as her skin brushed against the younger girl's. After a while, Yui felt the younger girl struggling in her arms, she loosened her hug and watched the girl immediately escape the hug and crawl toward the door.

"W-well, it was nice seeing you senpai! U-uh, s-see you tomorrow!"

The flustered younger girl spoke quickly before slightly bowing and getting up to leave. Yui watched as the girl hastily walked away, it amused her to see that her kohai hadn't removed the cat ears and was still wearing them.

"Azunyan, before you go..."

The pig tailed girl turn to face her with a confused look.

"Hehe, maybe you should get rid of those cat ears, ne?"

Realization entered those garnet eyes as she hastily removed the ears and threw them at Yui.

"H-have a nice day, Yui-senpai, I really need to get home!" Azusa's flushed cheeks stood out against the paleness of her face.

"Ehhh, What about that tea, Azunyan?"

"M-maybe next time! G-Good bye!"

The younger girl ran out of the house with a bright red face leaving Yui with a dazed smile. The brown-eyed girl kept her gaze on the door as she mumbled to herself.

"Ne, Azunyan is interesting. Hopefully she never finds out our secret. It seems that I have found someone new to protect-what's that smell?" Yui sniffed around for a bit before noticing a dark smoke coming from the kitchen.

"Ah, it's just my food burning," Yui smiled to herself before realization hit.

"WAIT WHAT?"

The airhead ran to the kitchen and turned off the stove, after she placed her meal on the table, she picked up the car ears on the floor. A smile crept onto her face as she recalled the warmth that coursed through her body when she hugged the girl.

_I may not know Azunyan too well, but I do know that she is definitely someone worth protecting._

* * *

**A/N**: Ahhh, finally this chap is finished. There were a few editing issues to take care of and such, but my beta pulled through c: Thanks again Musician-senpai! :D I hope you all enjoyed reading this! Azunyan is finally introduced and now the plot will begin unfolding further! Reviews and creative criticism are appreciated!

Mehh, I hope it wasn't too OOC if there was any OOCness at times. I struggled a bit with the last part after my beta pointed out that it was a bit "convenient", but I fixed it up as best as I could! Heh, hope that whoever is reading this keeps reading!

Hm, If you sneezed while reading this or the story itself, bless you! If not, oh well! Have a nice one!

Imuffinator signing out until the next one~


	4. Chapter 3: Meant to Live

**A/N:**

I apologize for this story taking so long! Both my beta and I were extremely busy! Now as AP classes have kicked into gear, things are getting much more difficult! Although there is some bad news, the good news is that the latest chap is up! I hope you all enjoy it! Thanks for taking the time to wait! And now….I present you chapter 3!

Disclaimer: I do not own K-ON! it belongs to Kakifly and KyoAni.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Meant to Live**

**"At this point we have launched an investigation on the crime committed. As of now, no arrests have been made, but when we return following the break, we bring news on the two famous, yet infamous heroes, Captain and Private."**

Ritsu lay on the cold wooden floor of her living room while she waited for her breakfast to be ready. She ignored the noises emitted by the commercials on the TV as she stared at the ceiling. She wasn't really paying much attention to what was being said on the broadcast due to her mind drifting to thoughts of the previous day. Ritsu couldn't help but notice that her airheaded partner had been acting stranger than usual ever since they met Azusa.

_Could it be? Is Yui smitten with her?_

Ritsu squinted up her amber eyes in thought and tried to recall the previous day. Sure, Yui seemed clingier than usual, but Yui was naturally a touchy person.

_Nah she can't be._

A smirk appeared on Ritsu's face as she closed her eyes and laughed rather loudly.

"What's so funny?"

The foreign voice penetrating the silence startled her, causing Ritsu to panic before she quickly sat up. She balled up her fists and brought them up defensively before noticing the familiar sight of raven hair.

"M-Mio, When did y-you get here?"

Ritsu watched the grey-eyed girl frown. Then before she could react, she felt the girl's fist collide with her head.

"It hurts. It hurts. Why'd you do that, Mio?" the drummer gasped as she held her head to try to suppress the excruciating pain.

_Geez, Mio's violent this early in the morning? I'm in for a long day… _

"Idiot, I've been here for the past ten minutes, but you seemed too dazed... so I didn't want to bother you."

Mio's gentle tone made the shorter girl feel a pang of guilt shoot through her. Ritsu scratched her cheek and weakly laughed. She crossed her legs and placed her hands on her thighs so she could think.

_Shoot...if she's been here as long as she says she has then she'll ask questions._

Her amber eyes searched the room for an excuse to leave the room. They brightened up when she realized that she had food waiting for her.

"Oh! Breakfast has to be ready by now!" Ritsu quickly half-shouted as she quickly stood up and ran into the kitchen.

_I know that Mio's confused, but I really have to get my act together before I go back out there!_

When she returned to the dining area, she saw Mio staring intently at the television. Her stomach tingled slightly as she observed the bassist's eyes while they scrutinized the screen. A sensation of longing overtook her while she approached her friend.

_Ack gotta keep these feels in check!_

"Ne, you can turn up the volume silly ~ "

Ritsu grinned as she plopped down next to her friend. Mio nodded before turning up the volume while Ritsu began to play with the chopsticks as if they were drumsticks. The next words that were emitted from the TV made her blood run cold.

**"...In other news, it seems that one of the heroes of the Captain-Private duo has been acting solo. Taken just yesterday night, we managed to obtain footage from a store's security camera of what appears to be a brawl; in it, it looks like the famed hero known as Private is aiding the fight instead of doing something to prevent it."**

A sudden silence engulfed the room while the footage was being prepared. The noise made by the landing of Ritsu's chopsticks on the table caused the drummer to flinch. Mio gave her friend a confused look, but she froze when she noticed the horrified expression on Ritsu's face. The bassist moved as if to speak, but the shorter girl quickly pressed her finger to onto Mio's lips.

_I-I must have misheard it, right? They must be talking about…something else?_

Amber eyes stared intently at the clip being presented. The image was slightly blurry, but was clear enough to show a group of people fighting. It seemed that it was a gang of thugs fighting against a group of others wearing black hooded jackets and what seemed to be masks. There, right in the middle of that group, sitting on a ledge, was the small figure that Ritsu had hoped not to see.

The longer Ritsu observed "Private", the more obvious it became that something was off about the hero and his actions since he seemed to be nonchalantly tossing weapons to the fighters with what seemed to be an amused smirk on his face. When he leaned down to pick up the next object, Ritsu felt her stomach cringe upon seeing the similar insignia on his chest.

_N-no, no, this is not happening._

Ritsu stared at the television with a blank expression; she couldn't help her jaw dropping when she saw that as the fight continued, the hero even yawned at the sight of what was happening.

_It really can't be her! There's no way that Yui would do this!_

Ritsu knew that Mio was watching her, but the shock that came from the revelation of this video froze the drummer to her spot. At the end of the clip, Ritsu almost fainted when she saw Private walk toward the camera, stare at it slightly, give a cold smile, and then flash a peace sign before the image was lost.

_B-but…Yui, y-you promised…there's just no way… _

"R-Ritsu are you al-" Mio asked shakily when she noticed that Ritsu was trembling.

Ritsu's amber eyes stared down at the ground in shock. She kept her fists clenched tightly in order to prevent herself from shaking too much.

_N-no, I refuse to believe it…THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL THAT YUI WOULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS…right?_

"N-No! This can't be right! It can't— be!" Ritsu's voice cracked before she jumped up and quickly ran to find her bag.

Two feet before she reached it, she tripped on the carpet and face planted onto the floor. Ignoring Mio's gasp, Ritsu continued making her way over to the motionless bag.

"R-Ritsu what's wrong?"

"Not now, Mio!" Ritsu nearly snarled at her while thoughts ran through her head.

_No, Yui wouldn't patrol without me. She also wouldn't help out with gang fights...what is happening?_

**Ring. **_Come on, come onnnn._

**Ring. **_Yui, if you're not involved I swear I will treat you to any ice cream._

**Ring**. _Pick up the phone damn it!_

Ritsu could feel her heart _pounding_in her ears as she anxiously waited for the rings to stop and the airhead to pick up. When it stopped, she pressed her phone harder against her ear and waited a few seconds until a voice spoke.

**"Hello...?"**

Ritsu's heart jumped with relief as she heard the familiar voice.

"Y-Yui! Geez, I just had the biggest panic attack! Listen, I need to talk to you! Have you seen the new-"

**"Hehe, you probably thought that I picked up, ne? Sorry, but I don't have my phone on me right now! Leave a message after the beep! …Beeep!"  
**  
**BEEP.**

Ritsu stared blankly at her phone before ending the call. Out of all the times that she could have reached Yui's voicemail, this was one of the worst. When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she nearly flinched, but seeing that it was Mio, she gave her a weak smile.

_Heh, leave it to Yui to have such a joke of a voicemail. _

"Let's go to school, Mio."

Ritsu dejectedly said before she saw grey eyes examine her. She weakly smiled at the taller girl before Mio nodded and picked up her stuff. She knew that Mio understood that something horrible had happened, but the tawny-haired made it seem that she was intent on putting on her blazer to give anything away.

Ritsu looked down at her phone quietly for a few seconds before opening it back up to send a text message. If something was up with Yui, she had to make sure that Mugi knew just in case something important came up.

Amber eyes stared blankly at the screen for a few seconds as she read over her typed message:

**Not sure if u've seen news, Yui might b in trouble. Talk during 4****th**** the usual spot.**

"Ritsu, are we going yet?"

The tawny-haired girl looked up from the phone and up at her best friend. There was a worried gleam in Mio's eyes, but Ritsu had to make sure that the worry didn't cut through and make her spill what was on her mind. Putting on her bravest face, Ritsu grabbed her school bag and ran toward the door.

"Mhm, let's go, Mio!"

**~K-ON! ~  
**

"Did you hear the news?"

"I know! Oh my, Private can't be turning bad! We're going to get married!"

"No he's gonna marry me! Ugh, I bet after meeting Nakano he went bad."

Azusa rubbed her temples as she tried to ignore her babbling classmates. Ever since she had arrived at school, there was non-stop chatter around her about how something had come up in the news where Private was behaving rather badly.

She narrowed her garnet eyes and irritably thought: _I really don't see the logic as to how Private would turn bad after meeting me… If he was bad, he would start out as bad, wouldn't he?_

"Oi, quiet all of you, Private wouldn't give any of you a chance if he saw you act like this! So leave Azusa alone!" Jun nearly growled at the gossiping girls.

Each girl looked rather taken back before dispersing. The twin-tailed girl gave Jun a weak smile before placing her head on her arms.

All morning, classes seemed to be going by too slow for her liking. Even as she listened to the others, she remained in denial. There was no way that Private would ever help out in a fight; he had saved her from being assaulted. It just didn't make sense.

Even though Azusa constantly told her classmates that she didn't know anything, they constantly pestered her and asked if she had inside information. The more she told them that she had no idea what was happening, the fiercer their statements became and soon after they began to blame her for Private's sudden change.

_I really don't understand how the minds of these people work…_

Raising her head up a bit from the comfort of her arms, Azusa recalled a conversation that she had overheard between her fellow club members and Ui earlier in the day. Moving her garnet eyes to look at the younger Hirasawa, she couldn't help but worry at what she had heard. Ui seemed a lot better now than she had in the morning, back then, the younger Hirasawa was jumping around restlessly.

_Ui must have called home since she isn't as anxious to leave. If Yui-Senpai isn't in school today…where could she be? Ui looked really worried earlier. I hope that everything is alright._

Even though her mind was preoccupied with her idol, the airhead would not stop invading her thoughts, especially since the incident from the previous day was burned into her mind.

_Wait...what was it that she called me? Azu...nyan?  
_  
The phantom feeling of Yui's arms wrapping around her caused the petite girl's face to heat up as she buried it in her arms to hide her blush. The nickname was extremely embarrassing, yet at the same time it made her slightly giddy inside.

_Well, worrying about Yui-senpai won't do anything to help find her… I wonder if Mugi-senpai and Ritsu-senpai are up at the roof again…Well, checking is better than nothing!_

After the bell rang to signify the end of third period, Azusa quickly took the path down the hall that would lead her to the roof once again. After making the long trek up the stairs, she smiled when she saw that the door at the top of the stairs was slightly ajar; however, the frantic voices on the other end troubled her.

"I know, I know. I shouldn't jump to conclusions, but you can't deny it Mugi. If she's involved, then we hafta go help her!"

Azusa listened intently and guessed the frantic voice to be Ritsu's.

"Don't be rash, Ricchan. We should think this out thoroughly before doing anything. If Yui-chan is indeed in trouble, then getting involved could make it worse."

A soft voice that could only belong to Mugi clarified that the rash speaker from before was indeed Ritsu. When Azusa heard Yui's name being mentioned and the possibility that something was wrong, she felt more worried than she had been before.

"Ugh, to top it off, I think that Mio's getting suspicious again. I wish it was simple...like the earlier days. Yui hasn't been the same for the past week, but the last time I tried to actually talk her she wouldn't even tell me anything!" Ritsu half-whined, but the broken tone in her voice led to a guilty feeling in Azusa's stomach for listening in to the conversation.

"Well, if Mio-chan finds out, let her. If it is inevitable, let it happen. You've been hiding your feelings for way too long, Ricchan... We should stop this conversation now; I feel that we might have a guest coming."

The blonde's voice had a slight ring to it which slowly led Azusa's body to automatically open the door completely.

_H-how does she do that? _

"Morning Azusa-chan, I hope that your classes have been well so far."

The blonde gave her a dazzling smile when she joined them on the rooftop. Ritsu's face momentarily held a look of shock before she looked away and scratched her cheek. The younger girl looked down at her feet before deciding to apologize to her senpais.

"S-sorry, I had a feeling that you would be here…. Um, is everything okay with Yui-Senpai?"

While Mugi prepared to answer, Azusa noticed Ritsu's eyes slightly harden before taking on an emotionless look.

"Well, the most that we know is that you were the last person to speak to her. When Ui-chan went to check in on her this morning, she said that she was deeply asleep. Was anything wrong with her when you left?"

Mugi's statement was caught Azusa slightly off guard since the recollection of what happened the day before flooded her mind.

"S-she seemed fine. I mean she gave me a silly nickname, but she seemed happy."

The younger girl felt the blood rush to her face as she looked down to hide it. Azusa watched in slight confusion as the blonde took in her blush and her blue eyes began to shine as if she was imagining something pleasant.

_Why is she looking at me like that?  
_  
"Ahh...I see. So we should hope that Ui-chan has contacted her then, knowing Yui-chan, she is probably asleep." Mugi's tone as she affectionately spoke about the airhead which brought a smile to Azusa's face.

Ritsu, who had been quiet the entire time, folded her arms and began to head for the door.

"Well Mugi, I better go find Mio. See ya later, Nakano."

Ritsu messed up Azusa's hair with one hand, grinned, and then walked through the open door. Azusa watched the tawny-haired girl's hair disappear into the darkness of the stairwell and then glanced at the blonde. Mugi had a frown on her face and her blue eyes showed an emotion that took Azusa a few seconds to register.

_This is confusing…why does it seem that both Mio-senpai and Mugi-senpai stare at Ritsu-senpai in that same way? It's like…they're both disappointed whenever she goes away._

* * *

Ritsu walked down the stairs as quickly as possible. When she was at the third step from the bottom, she jumped off before bending her knees slightly and feeling her feet hit the ground.

No one could really see it, but knowing that Yui was missing made the sick feeling return. It reminded her of memories that she wished she could forget.

_First Satoshi...and now Yui...Damn, she better hope that I don't find her.  
_  
The tawny haired girl ran her hand through her hair in frustration before reentering the hallway. For now, Yui was missing, but she would keep a close watch on Mio to make sure that she nothing was wrong.

_Why do I feel like something bad is going to happen?_

As she walked down the hallway, she caught a glimpse of three girls standing around a poster of the Captain-Private duo that was taped onto a wall. Noting that a girl with short black hair stood with the two, Ritsu felt slightly puzzled.

_Eh? Could it be that even the mayor's daughter likes us too? _

Shaking her head to clear any more thoughts, Ritsu grinned.

_Heh, it'd be better if she did like us though…it would make things easier._

**~K-ON! ~  
-**

The music room was empty and devoid of any sound after school. The squeak of the door opening echoed throughout the room as the girl entered and placed her guitar on the floor.

"No one's here yet."

The whisper seemed to echo in the room causing her to frown before lying down on the couch. The silence was so comforting and the emptiness of the room began to lull her to sleep. Her eyes slowly closed as she lay in the quiet. All thoughts fading as she entered a world of dreams and happiness.

The door creaked open slowly as the newcomer took in the sight of what was in front of her.

"It can't be. I must be imagining it."

The newcomer mumbled as she approached the couch. She knelt down next to the sleeping girl and hesitated before pinching her cheek. The girl stirred at the action and sleepily opened her chocolate brown eyes. After rubbing them, the sleepy girl gave the newcomer a warm smile.

"Afternoon, Azunyan. I guess I must have fallen asleep, hehe."

Yui giggled as she sat up and stretched. Azusa watched her senpai with wonder.

_How did she manage to get into the school without anyone knowing?  
_  
While she stood deep in thought, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her.

"Y-Yui-senpai let go!" The cat-like guitarist struggled in the girl's grip to get away.

"Nooooo~ I don't have energy since I haven't eaten any sweets! So Azunyan energy will have to do~"

The older girl pouted as she rubbed her cheek against Azusa's. The door opened a third time before three people entered.

"Yui-chan!" Mugi laughed.

"Yui!" Ritsu and Mio shouted simultaneously.

The auburn-haired girl looked at her band mates before smiling at them. Azusa observed as Ritsu's amber eyes scrutinized before she let out a sigh of relief.

"Y-Yui you really shouldn't be here right now. Ui is worried sick about you."

The bassist folder her arm, even though she was acting worried, a relieved smile on her face showed that she was happy that Yui was safe. Azusa felt the arms wrapped around her tighten before the airhead answered. Yui's soft voice sent chills down the younger's spine since the older girl was so close.

"I know. I spoke to her before I came here."

Yui gave them a silly smile to ease their distress.

"What happened to you, Yui-chan?"

Mugi's voice and her eyes were filled with concern. The four girls looked intently at Yui hoping to hear a serious answer. The airhead let go of Azusa and backed away slightly. She cleared her throat before putting on a serious face, and flashing a peace sign.

"I over slept because I stayed up too late watching cartoons!"

The four girls looked at Yui and then sweat dropped. Azusa slightly smiled at her senpai since she was glad that she was okay.

_This seems typical of Yui-senpai.  
_  
The two raven-haired girls immediately accepted Yui's response, but the latter questioned it. As Mio and Azusa led Yui back to the table, they failed to see the look that was shared by the keyboardist and drummer.

While the five club members sat around the table, they discussed what type of cake was the best, as the clubroom door opened up, Azusa watched as Yui tried to hide under the table, but noted that it was too late for the girl to escape the newcomer's attention. The woman strode in graciously, her long dark brown hair flowing behind her.

"Good afternoon girls! How was playing hooky, Yui-chan?"

The woman adjusted her glasses as she smirked at the girl that was trying to crawl away. Yui jumped up and scratched her head as their advisor approached.

"Hehe, afternoon Sawa-chan, what a lovely dinner we're having. I need to clean my plant and water my house."

The airhead laughed nervously as she tried to make a run for it. Unfortunately for Yui, Sawako was fast and stopped her.

"Nice try, kid. For ditching today, you'll owe me a favor in the future."

With evil glint in her eyes, Sawako gave Yui a devilish smirk. The girls sitting at the table watched with sweat drops as they saw the airhead give in to their teacher's request. The bespectacled woman then turned to Azusa, a slightly confused look on her face.

"Sawako-Sensei, this is Nakano Azusa. She is the newest member of the light music club," Mio introduced the pigtailed girl and then pointed to the teacher as she continued, "Azusa, this is the club's advisor."

_T-this is THE Sawako-Sensei? The one that is adored by all the students?  
_  
"Oho, so you're the prodigy that I've heard about," the brown haired woman stroked her chin and stared at her thoughtfully.

_W-wow, Sawako-Sensei is really beautiful. She seems like a great teacher.  
_  
Azusa stared back at the woman. If she could read the teacher's thoughts she would have seen that the woman was wondering how she would look with cat ears and a maid costume.

_S-she's still staring at me...wait what if she wants me to play something? I mean she is the club advisor; What if this whole playful atmosphere is a test to see whether I will take the initiative? Oh kami, I must look so unmotivated right now!  
_  
Azusa walked over to her guitar as the bespectacled woman simultaneously walked over to the table. Placing her pick between her lips, she proceeded to stretch her fingers. _Okay, here I go._

Her fingers swiftly moved through the frets as she warmed up and played a Diatonic C scale. As she moved to play it in reverse, she suddenly saw the brown haired woman in front of her face.

"BE QUIET!" The woman startled her as she roared into her face.

Azusa stumbled back slightly; she didn't expect to be yelled at for playing music.

"Sawa-chan you idiot!" Ritsu scolded the teacher.

"B-but I can't enjoy my tea and snacks without silence," Sawako whined.

"Sawako-Sensei, would you like to try this new herbal blend of tea?" Mugi asked brightly as she held the packet up.

"Ah! Of course! As teacher I should get first sample!" Sawako smiled as she returned to her carefree demeanor.

Azusa watched in shock, she was terrified of what she had just seen. Still holding her Mustang, she stood there trembling until the bassist walked over.

"Sorry about that, Azusa. I hope she didn't scare you. Sawako-sense is a bit strange," Mio calmly said as she held her hand out toward the trembling girl.

Azusa looked down; her fear had morphed into the same frustration that she had the previous day.

_This is the light music club not the let's-eat-snacks-everyday club. I can't believe that I let them make me approve of this.  
_  
"Azusa?" Mio whispered hesitantly.

Unable to hold her emotions in any longer, Azusa pointed at the table, anger illuminating her face.

"What is this? This is supposed to be the music room right? So why are we eating sweets?" Azusa snapped before pointing at the teacher and continuing, "And you, you're supposed to be our advisor, yet you're going along with it?"

The three girls and Sawako looked at Azusa, each of their faces held a look of fear. Once she noticed that she caused that, she took a step away from them.

_Oh no, now they must hate me._ Azusa looked down, her cheeks a bright shade of red as she closed her eyes in shame. _It felt good to yell though...in a weird way.  
_  
The younger girl felt warm as a pair of arms wrapped around her.

"Sh, Sh, calm down Azunyan, It's okay," Yui whispered in her calm, comforting voice.

The soft huskiness of the girl's voice seemed to ease the anger away. As the girl caressed the top of her head, Azusa couldn't help but relax like a kitty being tenderly pet by its owner.

"There, all better!" Yui giggled as she let go just as Azusa was getting comfortable and then walked over to the table.

Azusa sighed slightly before following the girl.

Soon enough, all six of them were seated at the table drinking tea. Azusa closed her eyes in frustration and looked around at her band mates.

_The light music club...when do we actually play music? Even our advisor is a disappointment.  
_  
She glanced at the teacher who was chatting lively with Mio. Then she went to glance at the airhead next to her, but she was surprised to see that she was missing again.

_How does she do that?_

After taking a good look around the room, she also saw that Mugi and Ritsu were missing.  
_  
Maybe they want to talk to her about whatever trouble she's in?_

"Haha, things are becoming interesting in this club, aren't they?"

Sawako laughed triumphantly which confused the girls since there was nothing to laugh about.

"Sensei...you drove them away with your silliness."

The bassist's voice held a slightly irritated tone. Sawako turned toward Mio and wrapped her arms around the girl before whispering into the girl's ear.

"Would you like me to bother you instead?"

Mio froze up and tried to get away. The bespectacled woman smirked as she wrapped her arms around the girl.

"N-no! I take it back let me go please!"

The older woman held a teary-eyed Mio as the poor girl struggled to escape the woman's grip. The pig-tailed girl watched the interaction with slight amusement before she decided to place her head on the table. Her quiet laughter ceased when a loud thump was heard outside of the room.

"What was that?"

**~K-ON! ~  
-**

Shortly after Sawako had seated herself with the girls, Yui had received a strange look from Ritsu. When the girl motioned for both her and Mugi to follow, Yui couldn't help but feel worried. What could Ricchan want with her and Mugi?

The drummer's eyes seemed blank and it was making the airhead feel uneasy. The three girls silently slipped away into the hallway and closed the door to the music room. As soon as the door was shut, Yui faced Ritsu and saw that the girl was trembling.

"Ricchan? What's wro-"

Yui had started to question the girl, but was cut off as Ritsu vehemently pushed her against the wall. Mugi couldn't prevent a slight blush from forming on her cheeks as she watched the scene in front of her.

"Yui...why did you betray me?"

The tawny-haired girl's voice came out in a strangled whisper. Confused by what she meant, Yui looked strangely at her friend. Amber eyes bore into brown as if searching for something. The shorter girl continued in that same broken voice.

"You promised that we would help save people, right? That we would always fight the bad guys and keep our loved ones safe?"

"Ne, Ricchan what's happening? Y-you're scaring me."

Yui whimpered as she looked at Ritsu. The drummer half-yelled while she pressed Yui harder onto the wall, "You promised right?!"

Sensing that a fight would take place if she did not stop the violence that was occurring, Mugi placed her hand on Ritsu's shoulder.

"Ricchan...think about what you're doing."

Her voice held a worried tone while her baby blue eyes were wide in surprise.

"Yui! How could you help continue that brawl instead of stopping it..? Especially...especially since the mayor is already making us look like bad guys!"

The drummer continued talking with her voice slightly raised. With those words, Yui's face went uncharacteristically blank as she gave the drummer a half-smile.

"Ricchan...I don't have any idea what you're talking about."

Mugi stared at Yui and realized the girl honestly did not have any idea why Ritsu was angry, but it seemed that the impulsive girl that was pinning her into the wall didn't realize it yet.

"Ricchan...honestly, think carefully. Why would Yui-chan have any reason to help a fight? You know that she would do anything in her power to stop it...for all we know, it was an imposter."

Yui watched as the drummer looked down at the ground, her face was red and the girl's eyes were slowly filling up with tears. She felt Ritsu weaken the pin on her. Yui looked thoughtfully at the girl as she remembered something. _Oh, maybe she is talking about the news that Private has been doing bad things?_

"Ricchan…what you're talking about... Is it what I've been hearing all day? That I, as my hero self, went around town and created chaos?"

The brown-haired girl calmly whispered to her attacker, that half-smile remained on her face. Ritsu slowly nodded and looked down. The laugh that escaped from the airhead's mouth startled the drummer and caused her to look up suddenly.

"Ne, Ricchan, have you seen that imposter? I'm too clumsy to be that cool~"

Yui continued giggling as she watched the drummer's reaction. Realization finally seemed to dawn in the drummer's eyes. The hero that she had seen was tall and had no clumsy movements. The imposter had done a bad job impersonating the clumsy airhead. A grin formed on Ritsu's face that suddenly replaced all unhappy thoughts in Yui's mind.

"Hehe, you're right. Sorry that I doubted you, Private!"

Ritsu completely unpinned her as she grinned. Yui rubbed her shoulders before smiling at the tawny-haired girl in front of her.

"It's such a relief to see that everything has worked out."

Mugi spoke up as she tried to reinsert herself back into the conversation. Yui nodded before tackling both girls and wrapping her arms around them.

"Ack, Yui what are you- Oof!"

"Y-Yui-chan, be care-Ack!"

**THUMP**.

Mugi escaped the tangled mess of bodies and felt blood rush to her nose when she saw the scene in front of her.

"O-Oi, Y-Yui, gerroff me!"

Ritsu grumbled, but the airhead seemed to be dizzy and didn't want to move. The door to the club room opened and Mio's voice could be heard.

"What's wrong guys- W-what are you d-doing?"

The tall black-haired girl exclaimed before falling back onto the ground. Seeing Mio's gaze on her and Ritsu, Yui couldn't help but giggle. Ritsu on the other hand frantically began to push Yui off.

"Ah...so you two have _THAT _kind of relationship."

Sawako had a slight gleam in her eyes as she spoke.

"E-Eh?! N-No! Sawa-Chan instead of standing there like a perverted old woman, help me out here!"

When the amused look on Sawako's face phased into a dark one, Ritsu gulped. Yui looked at the drummer anxiously and weakly smiled.

_W-wrong move, Ricchan._

"What was that you called me?" Sawako nearly hissed at the girl.

The teacher pushed Yui off vehemently before picking the drummer up by her collar.

"Yui-senpai!"

Azusa yelled in worry as the teacher threw the brunette to the side. The girl with clips in her hair slowly opened her eyes and weakly smiled at Azusa.

"W-what's wrong?"

Azusa's voice sounded worried as she examined her senpai. Yui continued her weak smile.

_If I can do this right...I'll have more energy._

"A-Azunyan...Come closer."

Yui whispered as she slowly reached her hand out to the girl. Taking the bait, Azusa grabbed the girl's hand and leaned in slightly. As soon as she leaned in, Yui pulled the girl into a tight hug.

"Azunyan~ you always cheer me up."

Yui giggled into the girl's hair. The garnet-eyed girl shifted herself so she could face Yui and saw a look of pure content. She smiled slightly before realizing that she was tricked.

"E-Eh, Y-Yui-senpai, let go of me!"

The kohai whimpered as she pushed against the arms of her senpai.

"It really does seem like all that we do is goof off."

The girls all turned to face a solemn Mio who was trying to stop her laughter. In response, Mugi smiled at her, Yui tightened her hug on Azusa, and Sawako kept her headlock on Ritsu.

"S-Sawa-chan, you're making it hard to breathe."

Ritsu gasped as her face started to turn blue. Sawako immediately dropped the drummer, who then took a big gulp of air. As she lay on the ground trying to catch her breath, Ritsu smiled to herself and thought.

_So it wasn't Yui, but if it's not her...then who's the imposter?_

**~K-ON! ~  
-**

The sky was orange with a pink tint. After a quick practice, the girls had decided to go home. Carrying her case on her back, Yui walked home deep in thought.

_I don't think that it was me who helped the fight. What if I have started sleep heroing and it was my doing? Then wouldn't I be lying to the others?_

Yui stopped walking and let her head shift a bit to the side; steam was visibly leaving the top of her head. She quickly focused herself again and continued heading toward her house.

"I'm home!"

Unlike the previous day, the silence was interrupted by Ui's voice.

"Ah, welcome back Onee-chan! We have a visitor so please don't too startled."

Yui smiled at the sound of her sister's voice and then walked to the dining area. She would have nearly dropped her guitar and jumped the girl if Ui hadn't previously warned her. A girl with short dark brown hair and glasses was warmly smiling at her.

"Hey there stranger, I dropped by to make sure you two were doing well. Especially since you weren't at school today," Nodoka said with a slight laugh.

Yui plopped down next to her childhood friend and smiled.

"I am truly glad to see that you're both okay. With news of that hero probably gone bad, I didn't know what to expect," she continued.

Yui slightly frowned, but faked a smile to hide her uneasiness.

"Will you be staying for dinner, Nodoka-chan?"

Ui's voice held a warm and concerned tone. The bespectacled girl shook her head before responding.

"No, no. I wouldn't want to impose on you two. I just came around to check up on you two and give you the latest update on your parents."

With this statement, the Hirasawa sisters moved closer to their friend and listened intently.

"...I'm sorry to say that there is no news on them. It's as if they have disappeared without a trace," Nodoka said somberly as she flashed them a sympathetic look. She scratched her head before continuing, "I have gathered as much information as I can from my father, but even he has limited knowledge of what happens in the town's council."

_I see…_

Yui looked down and sadly smiled, she was getting used to these reports. On the other hand, Ui, who was especially fragile ever since her injury, began to sob. The elder sister wrapped her arm around the younger as she cried.

"It's okay, Ui. We still have each other," she reassuringly whispered.

Nodoka looked away at the scene, ever since Ui's injury, she brought the Hirasawa's news on their parents. Since her father was best friends with Yui and Ui's father and was on the city council, he gave her details to pass on to the siblings. Nodoka removed her glasses from her face and wiped them carefully on her shirt. Ui's sobs were the only noise in the house, but even then they eventually subsided. Yui continued smiling at her sister reassuringly, but her eyes remained blank.  
_  
It'll be okay, Ui. Onee-chan will take care of everything. Me and Ricchan will rid the city of evil soon enough! Even if it costs us our lives!_

"Ahem…Well, it was nice seeing you two again, but I should be going now. Yui, don't be a stranger, if you have any problems come talk to me, okay?" her intuitive friend's offer was clear as she stood up and walked toward the door.

Yui sat up and saluted her. "Will do, Nodoka-chan!"

Nodoka stared at her friend's salute for a bit, for some odd reason she felt like she had seen it somewhere.

"Oh, before I forget! Please be careful as you go out. It seems that a new group has risen up," Nodoka stated as she slowly walked toward the door.

"Group? What do you mean, Nodoka-chan?" Yui asked thoughtfully.

_If there's a new group, I should warn Ricchan._

"From the reports that I have heard my father give in, there's a group going around called 'The Revolution' that has been involved in crimes," Nodoka close her eyes as she thought before continuing, "Oh, they were the masked people involved in that clip from today with that hero…uh, Private."

At those words, Yui froze up and blankly looked at Nodoka.

"So you're saying that even the hero that everyone trusts might be bad? This is truly saddening," Ui frowned.

"Unfortunately, at the moment this seems to be the case, Ui," Nodoka frowned.

"Don't worry, Nodoka-chan! I'll keep Ui away from the bad guys!" Yui saluted again as she put on her bravest face.

Nodoka titled her head looked at her thoughtfully. Yui tensed up slightly before Nodoka shook her head and smiled at the sisters.

"Well, I'm off, goodbye you two!"

"Bye!" Yui called out to Nodoka's retreating back.

When Nodoka left, Yui stood facing the door for a bit. No words were exchanged between the sisters and the room remained in momentary silence.

"Don't worry, Ui. Soon enough you'll live in a safe world again. I won't let the bad guys hurt you!" Yui vowed as she turned to face her sister.

Ui stared at her sister with a surprised expression before giggling.

"And I'll do my best to keep you satisfied with sweets! We'll do it together, Onee-Chan!"

Both girls stared at each other before they burst into laughter.

_To keep laughing like this and to never let it end...I would do anything for that, Ui. I'll keep you, Nodoka-chan, Azunyan, Ricchan, Mio-chan, Mugi-chan, and everyone else safe. As long as I bear the name of Private, I won't disappoint any of you!_

* * *

Nodoka trudged out of the Hirasawa household in silence. She felt a bit better now that she had talked to the two sisters and found that they were okay.

_It's good to see that they're handling the situation well. When my father first notified me that day…I rushed over and found them both in a state of sadness._

The bespectacled girl stopped walking and glanced up at the sky. Something about the way that Yui had saluted her seemed vaguely familiar. For some reason, she thought of that hero when she imagined it.

_But there's no way Yui could have anything to do with it, Yui's been saluting ever since she and Ritsu met last year. Those two only appeared a few weeks ago._

Nodoka shook her head and continued walking home. The street seemed quieter than when she had first walked toward the Hirasawa household. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of red and yellow. She quickly moved her eyes so she could get a better look at whatever it was.

There, in the alley that she was about to cross, she saw a group of cloaked figures with their backs facing her.

_I-it can't be…!_

Nodoka watched in shock as the cloaked figures seemed to place posters on the wall that read "The Time for a Revolution is Nigh". She quickly ran away from the alley and behind a nearby bush.

_P-please don't tell me that they noticed me; please tell me that they'll just walk away._

Frozen in her spot, the bespectacled girl observed as the group of people dissipated and walked around to place more posters on light poles. On the pole nearest to her, Nodoka leaned in slightly to read what the poster said.

"Join the Revolution?" She mumbled to herself. In the poster she could see a blank mask. She leaned in a bit more and squinter her eyes to read the smaller font. "What will…your…"

"…Mark be? Is that what you're trying to read?"

Nodoka jumped at the sound of the foreign voice and quickly around. Standing there with his arms folded stood a figure wearing red and yellow. The increase in the breeze caused his red cape to flutter in it.

"W-well, if it isn't our town's hero," Nodoka shakily said, she swallowed and took a deep breath before continuing, "What are you doing going around and helping this gang for?"

"Manabe Nodoka, only daughter of Hiroshi Manabe, member of the city's council. What is a councilman's daughter doing snooping around?" Private said with a flat tone.

_H-how does he know so much about me? How does he even know who I am?_

Nodoka backed up slightly only to bump into something hard. She turned and saw that two of the cloaked members were standing behind her. Since they were closer, she could see the details on their masks. One had a gleeful expression on it and the other one an open-mouthed frown, similar to the ones one would see on display outside the drama club*.

"Now, now, Manabe-san, you have come to search us out, have you not?" Private smirked before leaning down and taking Nodoka's face in his gloved hands.

"I'll have you know that if I go missing…my father will stop at nothing to get you," Nodoka hissed, the fear was rushing through her system quickly and she didn't mean for the words to come out the way that they did.

_N-no, now he's going to get mad and I'll probably die on the spot!_

All of a sudden, Private began to laugh and let go of her face. He stood up and turned around before raising his right hand.

"Waka and Tachi, grab onto Manabe-san, honestly I didn't think we would nab her this early on, but hey? When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade." Private snapped his fingers and immediately the two hooded figures tied Nodoka's arms together.

"Oh, you'll be useful, Nodoka Manabe, with your help, this might just turn the tables around," he laughed coldly walking toward the alley.

Nodoka tried struggling against the grip of her two kidnappers, but it was a useless attempt. The two were wearing gloves that seemed to clamp onto her arms.

"The more you struggle, the worse it will be Manabe-san," One of the figures, the one with the gleeful expression, perhaps Tachi, said.

The two dragged her toward the alley and placed her next to the back of a van. It was the type of van that one's parent's often warned to stay away from.

_How ironic, I can't stay away from it if I'm being dragged toward it…_

Nodoka took a deep breath as the two members placed her in the van's trunk. They tied a white cloth around her mouth and leaned her against wall of the car.

"Don't worry Manabe-san, let this teach a lesson to the mayor, when he messed with me and The Revolution, he's only playing with fire!" Private laughed and then walked over to the back door of the car.

The last thing that Nodoka saw before it went dark was the sadistic smile on his face before the door closed.

* * *

*** When one sees the drama club, it's usually represented by two masks. One is happy and one that is unhappy and it usually always looks like this. So I guess when you envision the two masks, they would look similar to them. :)**

**A/N II:** Hope you all enjoyed reading this even though it was extremely! I'd like to thank my beta reader Musican74 for all the help! Unfortunately I have to find a new beta for my new story, but I wish her luck and am extremely grateful that she decided to help me. If it takes too long, then I'll figure out what to do for the next chapter. Thanks for the support everyone! As you can see, the story's plot is proceeding! "Where it goes, nobody knows!" Haha Now onto the next installment which will come soon! Reviews, criticism, and comments are appreciated! :D

**~imuffinator signing out. (- ^ -)ゞ**


	5. Chapter 4: Blurry

**A/N:**

I am sorry that this took so long, but due to issues with not finding a beta, I have tried my hardest to proofread and check this chapter. – 3- I really wanted to get it out before Christmas, but it somehow increased in length! I'm not gonna complain much about its length though because it's pretty spaced out. Anyhoo, I really hope you enjoy it! (Mostly cuz it will be the last chap of this year o u o) I'll stop babbling and let y'all read it now :D! I hope you don't get TOO confused.

o u o

Disclaimer: I do not own K-ON! it belongs to Kakifly and KyoAni!

* * *

**Chapter 4: Blurry**

Puffy white clouds slowly crawled through the never-ending blue landscape. It was a pretty peaceful feeling to be lying on the roof and stare up at the canvas that was the sky.

Since a majority of the students were in class, there were no disturbances or giggles to penetrate the silence. There was nothing extremely special about the occasion; it was just simply three girls lying on the roof and dazedly staring up into the sky.

While they observed the cloud's sluggish movements, the three girls forgot about the happenings in the world. They did not recall bloodshed that they were a part of or the darkness that lurked in the shadows waiting to consume them.

One of the girls carefully brought her right hand up to the sky and peeked at the blue canvas above through the slight gaps in her fingers. Yui pouted as she recalled that news stations had been covering stories of the two Privates more frequently than usual.

Yui closed her eyes and slowly inhaled while she thought.

…_Reporters have also covered more news on that group, The Revolution... _

A sigh escaped her lips before she rested the back of her previously stretched out hand on her forehead.

_Whenever I'm seen as Private… I'm usually with Ricchan… but now there's another me going around with The Revolution._ _What stinks even more is that we look so similar that people usually can't tell us apart, so I get blamed for everything!_

The frown that had recently become a common feature on her face appeared. The most recent event that had been blamed on Private involved someone stating that the hero was seen with the Revolution vandalizing stores around city hall.

Even now, with the mayor recently pointing out that the situation was worsening, Yui had tried to warn Ritsu that an imposter could easily step up to impersonate her too. A smile replaced the frown when the brunette recalled that Ritsu had said that _"If they're impersonating you, let them copy me too!"_

_This has added to the mayor's dislike of us. In the beginning, he didn't like us because we were stepping in where the police didn't and making him look bad, but now he's blaming all of the vandalism on us…_

Yui inhaled once again, then let the air slowly escape through her lips while she remembered the recent interview that she and Ritsu had done to confirm that there was an imposter; the action had seemed wise at the time, but it only seemed to further irritate their mayor and create more tension.

Yui half-opened her eyes and stared up at a sluggish cloud moving through the clouds as the memory played itself in her mind.

* * *

_~A group of excited people stood huddled in the center of one of the town's parks; it seemed that they were all gathered around a man with a microphone in his hand._

_The cause of all the commotion was not because of the man himself, but due to the figures standing next to him. The figures were both significantly shorter than him, but this did not deter the fans from trying to reach out and grab them from behind the barrier that separated them. _

_The news reporter smoothed out his short black hair while smiling into the camera; he then spoke into the thin microphone in his hands as if to test it. After the cameraman gave him a thumbs-up to indicate that he was on air, the reporter began the discussion._

_"…Thanks Kaito, as you've said, I'm here today with the city's two famed 'heroes' Captain and Private."_

_A round of loud cheers and whoops followed after the goggled hero smirked at the camera and the masked one responded with a peace sign. The tall man turned to face them before starting his interrogatory session._

_"The other day, you called our station and requested this meeting. You're here for a reason…is there anything you want to tell the people of the city…? Maybe give the lovely ladies hints of who you are so you can find a suitor? Eh?"_

_The reporter's mischievously grinned at the two heroes in front of him._

_Yui half-smiled at him since she knew that he was trying to get them to slip up and possibly make them look worse in order to obtain a favorable press response. This meant that her answer needed to be carefully thought out._

_"Reporter-San, we have no desire to initiate relationships. We only wish to aid the townspeople, isn't that right, Private?"_

_Ritsu's voice was carefully controlled as she slowly spoke so it sounded lower and huskier than usual. Yui suppressed the urge to giggle before coughing slightly and altering her voice to make it deeper._

_"Yes, but if people want to send us sweets...they can reach us at- Ow! I was kidding...hehe. "_

_Private rubbed "his" head as the reporter looked at the two with confusion. Captain merely scratched his cheek before realization showed on his face and his smile reappeared._

_"Oh, well, when we heard that someone was impersonating this goof over here; we felt the urge to prove that there is actually an impostor!" Captain grinned before continuing,"...so we have devised a catch phrase to help distinguish the two...ready Private?"_

_"Hai, Captain!"_

_A silence seemed to engulf the park as the two heroes prepared their poses._

_"I'm Captain...!"_

_Ritsu voiced while leaning on and slightly bending her left knee; her left arm was stretched out while her right was tucked in._

_"And I'm Private...!"_

_Yui grinned as she leaned on her right knee and stretched out her right arm._

_"..We are Team CaptIvate!"_

_Both girls snapped their feet together and brought the arm that had been stretched out onto the opposite shoulder. Ritsu's left arm ended on her right shoulder while her right arm remained by her side; whereas, Yui mirrored her._

_The silence that followed their action was summarily ended when the crowd around them burst into cheers. Yui didn't bother holding back her grin; all that mattered at that moment in time was that people believed them…and that was the only happiness she needed._  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hehe."

A giggle escaped Yui's mouth, thus ending the silence.

The two girls beside her gave her a puzzled look before she smiled at them. The guitarist watched Mugi return her smile before gazing up again; meanwhile, Ritsu continued to look at her with a silly grin on her face.

The two had managed to restore some peace in the city again, and the imposter and The Revolution seemed to have gone incognito.

Everything was perfect and it felt as if nothing could go wrong…

…At least, it seemed that way until the barrier between the three girls and the real world was shattered as soon as the door leading up to the roof opened and an irritated voice spoke up,_  
_  
"Oh, so this is where you've been hiding for the past few weeks, Ritsu."

Yui watched as Ritsu lazily moved her amber eyes to meet smoldering-grey before looking away. The tawny-haired girl sat up and faced her friend. A crooked smile lay on her face as she looked behind Mio.

"Heh, you can stop hiding, Azusa. We all know you told her about this," Ritsu laughed as the blushing kohai appeared behind the bassist.

_…A-Azunyan?!  
_  
Upon seeing Azusa, Yui felt her entire being lit up. Much to the drummer's surprise, Yui quickly stood up and ran toward her kohai. As soon as she reached her, she enveloped the girl in her arms.

"Yay, Azunyan! Now we don't have to hide this place anymore and we can all be together!" Yui happily proclaimed as she rubbed her cheek against Azusa's.

_Although I wonder why Mio-chan was the only one who didn't know about it…_

That familiar warm feeling enveloped Yui's insides as she prevented herself from burying her head into the younger girl's neck. Since it seemed that Azusa was starting to get used to her hugs, Yui took every chance that she could get to have her arms around the girl. Looking up from the sight of Azusa's blushing face, Yui looked thoughtfully up at the feuding friends.

_Oh yeah...Mio-chan was talking to Ricchan before, but Ricchan ignored her. Does that mean Mio-chan will…_

Yui flinched at the sound of Ritsu's pained cry.

_...Yup._

"Ack, what was that for Mio? That was completely unnecessary," Ritsu whined while she nursed the lump on her head.

Yui smiled at Ritsu's actions, but when she glanced at Mio, seeing the tears welling up in her normally composed friend's eyes made her freeze up. From the corner of her eye, Yui could also see that Ritsu had tensed up.

"S-so from what Yui said…y-you've been coming up here for weeks...f-first… I'm left all alone in a new class except for Nodoka… then you hide away with Mugi and Yui, disappear for hours at a time with no warning, and now you ignore m-me? W-what kind of a friend are you?!"

Mio's eyes were covered by her long bangs, but a stream of tears could be seen on her flushed cheeks.

_No, Mio-chan! Don't go! Ricchan do something!_

Yui looked at the spot where the drummer had been, but saw that she wasn't there.

_Huh? Where did she- Oh_.

She found the drummer grabbing onto Mio's hand and staring into the latter's eyes. Ritsu had an bright red blush on her face.

_…Yes, make everything right, Ricchan!_

Yui's glazed brown eyes followed the drummer as she dragged the struggling bassist into the stairwell. Mugi and Azusa looked at each other in confusion while Yui merely sighed and sadly smiled.

_Are we ever going to escape from the chains this whole thing has put us in…?_

From the corner of her eye, she noticed the majestic hawk statue beyond the chain link fence that surrounded the roof. While she glanced longingly at the small space underneath its spread wings, an idea popped into her mind as a blank smile worked its way onto her face. With her eyes not moving from the statue, she relaxed her grip on Azusa.

_Looks like it's time to escape my chains and get this hollow feeling out of my system. Normal things can't get the sick feeling out of my system anymore…I need to go a few steps higher._

**K-ON!**

Azusa immediately glanced at Yui when she loosened her grip on her. Something in her heart seemed to twinge when she caught the blankness in Yui's eyes.

"…Y-Yui-senpai?"

The younger girl reached her hand up to her senpai's cheek as she asked the question. Seeming to break out of her daze, Yui looked down at Azusa, smiled at her, and then completely let go.

"They'll be okay. Ricchan and Mio-chan need to talk it out. Ricchan hasn't been spending much time with Mio-chan," Yui smiled rather maturely before continuing, "I think this is what they need, right Mugi-chan?"

Mugi's face showed surprise as she nodded at Yui's perceptive statement before she sat up and returned her gaze to the empty stairwell.

"Azusa-chan, sit next to me so you're not standing," Mugi softly said as she patted a spot next to her.

Azusa looked at Yui to see if she would join, but she saw that the airhead had returned her eyes to the sky. She followed the girl's gaze trying to see what the brunette was seeing, but all she saw was a mass of clouds.

_Why is she so fascinated by the clouds? Is there a particular formation that interests her…? Or is there something running through her head that none of us will ever understand?_

The sudden sensation of a soft hand petting her hair caused Azusa to tense up and erase her thoughts until she noticed that it was just Mugi. The blonde girl was humming a familiar song to herself. Azusa closed her eyes and recalled the lyrics of it as she listened to the girl's soothing voice guide her through them.

_**With your own eyes, ascertain it carefully**_

_**And mark it on your map**_

_**When there's a shortcut, you got a right to take it**_

_**Even better if you got some wings tucked away**_

The name of the song popped up into Azusa's mind as Mugi hummed along to the song.

_Don't Say Lazy…. That's a really unique choice... It was one of the few on that recording that I heard before I entered this school._

…_**Crap…you break a nail, then fix it with glue**_

_**And just that somehow gives you a sense of achievement**_

_**The most important thing is to care for yourself**_

_**You gotta love yourself before you can love someone else**_

Azusa frowned as she recalled this segment of the lyrics. People in the town really thought that problems could be fixed just by putting away criminals. It was actually kind of silly watching them think that just because one was in jail, the others would be stopped.

_Even my father thinks that he's doing what's best for the city, but since he's so focused on what others think, he's ignoring the right thing to do… If he really loved the city, he should open his eyes and see that what Captain and Private are doing is more beneficial than what he is under the mayor's jurisdiction._

_**Please don't say, "you are lazy"**__**  
Because truthfully, I'm crazy!**__**  
'Cause even the skilled hawk, you know**__**  
Hides his picks where they can't be seen**__**  
Dream with all you got, 'cause reality's a lady**__**  
I'm still growing, after all...**__**  
Which is why I might suddenly go off – **_

The creaky metallic noise of a fence being pressed upon startled Azusa, causing her to immediately open her eyes. Mugi's humming had ceased, but she was still gently petting her head; on the other hand, Yui was nowhere to be found.

_She couldn't have...fallen off? Could she?_

The image of the innocent girl's unmoving body lying on the ground with a puddle of blood surrounding her suddenly invaded Azusa's thoughts; She shook her head vehemently as she tried to shake off the feelings of dread.

"M-Mugi-senpai?"

Azusa's voice came out in a strangled whisper.

_Is that really my voice? It sounds so...shaky._

"Hm?"

"W-where is Yui-Senpai?"

"Why, she's right over- Hm, that's unusual..."

Azusa turned to face the blond so she could follow her gaze. She felt her insides squeeze and her heart jump to her throat when she finally found her senpai.

In order for the school to even allow access to the roof for its students, they had installed a chain-link fence around the perimeter. The fence's purpose was to prevent students from jumping or falling off.

No one expected someone to dare to actually try to climb it because of the intimidating hawk statue that stood on the other side. Its majestic wings were spread out, giving its eyes a fierce look so it could watch over the students as if to make sure they didn't do anything reckless.

Out of all of the members, Azusa had never expected to see the airheaded member of the band out there. She could picture Ritsu doing something as rash as this, but certainly not Yui. And yet… there she was, sitting out on the ledge, right beneath the terrifying statue's spread wings, seeming quite calm and at peace with her eyes closed.

The more Azusa glanced at where Yui was sitting and the tiny amount of space that kept her bottom still on the building sent waves of panic through her. Azusa opened her mouth to shout, but felt Mugi immediately place her hand over it.

"Do not yell, Azusa-Chan. If Yui-chan is startled, she could easily fall off."

"B-but why is she even out there?"

"..."

Azusa examined the silent blonde as she tried to justify Yui's reason for being out there.

"…S-Senpai?"

The blonde took a deep breath and wistfully narrowed her blue eyes.

"...In order to make sure that she has the strength to keep fighting, sometimes Yui-chan does strange things. Especially now…they won't always...be good things, but they will let Yui-chan stay Yui-chan."

The pig-tailed girl stared at Yui for a while. Her senpai had not budged and it seemed as if she was either meditating or intensely concentrating on something.

_Keep fighting? Why would Yui-senpai need to keep fighting? Is it some sort of inner war? Well, there is that whole Ui issue, but…_

Azusa glanced down at her hands and sighed. The younger Hirasawa's arm was still in its cast, but she seemed to be faring well.

_If it is the Ui issue though, I don't see why she'd do something like this… the cast is coming off in a few weeks. I also thought that Yui-senpai got over that incident a while ago... But I guess that's not the only thing that's bothering her. Though that still doesn't explain why she's putting herself in a near-death situation..._

A small frown formed on Azusa's face as she continued watching Yui's unmoving figure. The sound of a bell ringing pierced the veil of silence to signal the five minute warning before the end of fourth period.

Azusa again felt her heart stick to her throat as she watched Yui slowly stand up and then stretch. Her garnet eyes remained on the brunette as Yui turned around to pull herself back over the fence.

It seemed to be and felt like an eternity to watch the older girl climb over the fence.

Azusa felt so relieved that Yui was safely on the other side, that as soon as she neared them, the raven-haired girl ran over and wrapped her arms around the brunette. Azusa could feel Yui's surprise at the sudden contact from her, the girl who usually avoided physical signs of affection.

"A-Azunyan…?" Yui's asked in disbelief, as if she didn't believe that there was a young girl attached to her torso.

Azusa buried her face in Yui's shoulder before speaking what was on her mind.

"D-don't worry me like that, Yui-Senpai! I-if you feel down or need to talk, just come to me! ...I'll help in any way that I can."

Azusa looked up into the normally bright brown eyes, but when she saw a half-empty look in them, she fought off the sudden emptiness by tightening the hug.

"I wish it was that simple, Azunyan, but life wouldn't be fun if it was simple, ne?"

Feeling her heart drop, Azusa refused to look into Yui's eyes again in fear of seeing emptiness; however, the giggle that escaped from Yui's mouth brought some relief to the younger girl as her senpai returned the hug.

Azusa contently sighed and rested her head on Yui's shoulder.

_It's better like this, right? I mean… there's no need for senpai to risk her life when she can just talk to me… I don't think that….I would like it if anything happened to her…_

**K-ON!**

"How interesting…"

Mugi whispered to herself as her baby blue eyes narrowed.

Normally interactions between her friends made the blonde heiress feel warm inside, but watching Azusa cling to Yui after she climbed back over the fence left Mugi with an empty feeling in her stomach. She frowned as she forced herself to look away from the intimate moment between the two girls.

_I…wish I had someone to care for me like that…_

The memory of Ritsu dragging Mio down the stairwell after their fight made its way into Mugi's mind. The achy feeling that had filled her insides when she saw Ritsu's concern for her best friend returned and was stronger than before.

_I wonder why it's gotten so strong recently…. _

Mugi sighed and reached up to examine a strand of her long blonde locks.

_Especially since I know that it'll only hurt more because Ricchan likes Mio-chan…_

Images of the drummer eyeing their shy bassist at their practices popped into her mind. She took a deep breath and recalled times when the girls discussed how to care for the city. During these sessions, Ritsu normally concentrated all her attention on Mugi since the blonde was in charge of gathering information and kept the atmosphere calm.

_That's not the only problem though…Those two are always running off in different directions and I have a hard time figuring out what they're thinking. Ever since the start they've been working their hardest and all I can do to help is watch from the sidelines…_

Mugi's blue eyes strayed back over to Yui and Azusa. The two seemed to be smiling and adjusting the straps of their bags as they walked toward her. Her stomach tensed up as she fought to keep a frown from forming on her face.

_Yui-chan now has Azusa-chan and Ricchan has…Mio-chan…and me? I know that I'm the one of the few who knows their secret, but...I wish they would confide in me more often. _

A warm breeze caressed the long strands of her blonde hair moving them until they landed on her face. Bringing up her hand to brush the strands away from her eyes, an idea planted itself into Mugi's mind.

_Wait, summer break is coming up... Maybe we can hold a special training session so the three of us can bond! _

A smile worked itself onto Mugi's face when she realized her ingenious idea. As soon as she caught sight of Azusa, she realized that the idea wasn't complete...yet.

_No wait, actually… maybe a training camp for the band would help us all!_

The blonde smiled to herself when she recalled how their training camp the previous year had allowed their original group of four to bond.

…_Yeah, that IS a great idea!_

"Mugi-chan, hurry up! We're going to be late!"

"I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I agree with Yui-senpai, we have to go Mugi-senpai!"

"Ehhh, you can't believe that agree with me? Azunyan is so mean..."

"Don't worry you two, I'll be over there in a few seconds," Mugi smiled as she leaned down to grab her bag and stood up to follow the two girls.

_A training camp is the perfect solution for Team Captivate and it can even benefit our band as a whole! I can't wait to tell them all later!_

Mugi glanced up at the sky once more and beamed again before walking into the dark stairwell and closing the door behind her.

**K-ON!**

**~Moments earlier**

Mio had quietly followed Ritsu as she wiped her eyes to stop the constant flow of tears that seemed never ending. The tawny-haired girl did not speak as they walked down the stairs.

Mio's sniffling and sobs were the main noise that could be heard on their journey down the stairs. Halfway down, Ritsu stopped walking and faced her friend. Amber eyes looked into puffy grey.

"Mio..." she said in a weak voice.

Mio looked away from her friend as she began to speak.

"I know you're mad at me. I know that I haven't been the same since...the incident a few months ago..."

The crack in the normally boisterous girl's voice caused Mio to look at her friend.

"..I'm sorry that I've ignored you lately, Mio. But it's for your own good! ...Things are getting wors-"

A surge of anger flooded through the taller girl at her friend's words.

"Did you ever think to ask me if I cared to be ignored?"

"Huh? Mio what are yo-"

"Ritsu! All I want is to have my friend back. I...I don't want us to be strained anymore. I'd rather hold your secrets than have you keep them from me!"

"Mio..."

The black-haired girl had started to tremble as her eyes welled up with tears again. Feeling unexpected warmth surround her middle, she looked down to find Ritsu hugging her.

"I'll do a better job of being your friend…I promise to stop ignoring you less, only if you promise me something though."

The amber-eyed girl's voice was gentle and kind. Mio wanted the moment to never end, but she knew she had to answer the girl.

"What's the promise?"

An impish grin formed on the tawny-haired girl's face as she looked at her friend.

_Oh no, that's the smile she usually gives me before she tries to do something to irritate me._

She saw Ritsu's lips move, but the loud ringing of a bell muffled her words. When the bell stopped, the two friends looked at each other.

"Err...guess I'll tell you next time! The others will be coming down soon," Ritsu hastily added while trying hide her blush.

Mio stared at her childhood friend with a confused look as she hurried down the stairs.

_What was that all about…?_ _Wait a minute…she's ditching me…_

"Hey idiot, don't leave me behind!"

Mio watched as Ritsu turned and grinned at her, her heart seemed to soar with happiness as while the drummer waited. Whatever was wrong with Ritsu had to wait, all that mattered was that she had her best friend back.

**K-ON!**

People walked in clumps throughout the small plaza. They were all too busy rushing to notice the young girl wearing a black hooded sweatshirt who had just walked into the town's crowded center. The girl glanced around at the groups of people in the square until her attention was focused on a bright paper on a wall.

Around her, the throngs of people seemed to act casually, as if her presence had not been noted.

Placing a hand on her forehead to block the sun's bright rays, the girl scowled at the sight in front of her.

A poster of the town's favorite duo with the words Team CaptIvate printed on it.

She wiped the sweat off of her brow before walking up to the poster and swiftly tearing it down.

She smirked as she looked at the two "heroes" on the poster. If only the town knew that the heroes that served as a symbol of hope weren't heroes at all, but merely two high school girls who were getting involved in things that they shouldn't meddle in.

_Hirasawa Yui and Tainaka Ritsu, you two are unfortunate souls who are fighting against an unknown evil that lurks in this city._

The girl with the poster in her hands smirked as she examined the smiles of Private and Captain. She wanted to laugh because the poor fools would never know that she was the one who was making Private look bad.

The girl had considered Hirasawa Yui to be her rival from the start. Especially since the two seemed to be fighting a common cause.

…_To fight against the evil established by our damned Mayor… I wonder who will reach their goal first._

Walking out of the crowded center and into a nearby alley, the girl stared at the poster in her hands. She attempted to run her fingers through her hair, but then frowned when she remembered that she had cut it short to fit the wig.

The sound of footsteps filled the alley before a voice called out.

"Ah, Boss! We finally found you!"

The imposter turned to smile at the two masked figures that approached. One of the girls wore a mask with a gleeful face and the other a sad face with its mouth open.

_The Revolution has really made an impact on this city, huh?_

As each figure removed their mask, the black-haired girl smiled when she saw that it was two of her most trusted in her ring of acquaintances.

Tachibana Himeko and Wakaouji Ichigo had proved to be quite useful in observing Yui and Ritsu. Since all of them attended the same private school, they each kept tabs on the two heroes.

"Learn anything useful, you two?" the hooded girl coolly said.

Himeko shook her head while Ichigo gave her a weak smile. The imposter looked back at the poster in her hands before smirking slightly.

Neither hero posing in it suspected that she was the person that they were seeking in the shadows. It was perfect actually because even if she did meet them, neither girl would suspect a thing. Her violet eyes glanced down at the poster once again.

_Ah...the usefulness of knowing people through the educational system, your interferences will cause you two a lot of trouble..._

With a cold smirk, the girl placed the poster on the ground and pulled out a small rectangular box from her pocket. She slid it open and pulled out a tiny match. After she struck it, she nonchalantly dropped it onto the poster and watched it burn with a gleeful look on her face.

"Come on Tachi and Waka, we have to meet the others soon," The imposter stated as the remaining embers on the poster died.

The two heroes would not be prepared for what was to come and she would make sure of it.

**K-ON!**

"A training camp…? That sounds amazing Mugi-chan!"

Azusa sweat-dropped as she watched an excited Yui nearly jump out of her chair and look as if she was going to tackle the blonde. The person that Yui ended up tackling though was Azusa because the brunette had then realized that it would be their first training camp as a group.

"Azunyan, we are going to get to spend a whole lot of time together!" Yui squealed while rubbing her cheek against the younger girl's.

After she let go, Yui went over to give Mugi a huge hug in order to thank her for her overwhelming kindness which left Azusa to recompose herself as she fought the blush that had formed on her face.

Out of the five girls, it seemed that Yui and Ritsu were the most excited when it came to the trip. While Azusa and Mio sat at the table sipping their tea, the duo stood by their instruments having an intense conversation on what they were going to do.

"Those two are really energetic, aren't they Mio-senpai?"

Azusa smiled as she continued to sip her tea. When she received no response, she looked up at the raven-haired girl to see that she was watching the duo intensely.

"Mio-senpai?" She repeated.

This seemed to snap Mio back to reality as she looked at her kohai.

"A-ah, Azusa, sorry, I was just deep in thought..."

"About Ritsu-senpai?"

"Y-yes...Wait what? N-No! Of course not! Why would I be thinking about that idiot?"

Azusa smiled at her senpai's flushed face as the girl tried to cover up her mistake.

_Her reaction only makes it more obvious that she was._

"It's okay if you think of Ricchan, Mio-chan. I mean, Ricchan is truly a unique person."

Mugi's voice startled both black-haired girls who immediately turned to face the newcomer in their conversation.

"W-what do you mean by that, Mugi?"

"Hehe, it can mean whatever you want it to mean, Mio-chan."

The raven-haired girl's face went two shades of red as the latter giggled at her. The two girls stopped looking at Mio, when they noticed the duo doing something strange. Yui appeared to be kneeling on the ground, as if she was bowing to someone of high command, while Ritsu had her arms behind her back and seemed to pace in an important manner.

"As you know, Private Yui, we are heading on a trip that could cost us our lives."

"I-I understand. I will do what I must, Captain Ricchan!"

The girls watched in confusion as Ritsu suddenly gestured to them when she continued the speech.

"So you vow to protect these girls? You swear to put your life on the line to keep them safe?"

"Oi, Ritsu who said that we need protecting?" Mio's irritated voice could be heard, but was ignored by the two girls who seemed to be intensely staring into each other's eyes.

"Well?"

The brunette looked down slightly before a proud smile appeared on her face. She looked at the amber-eyed girl's face before speaking.

"Hai, I, Private Yui, will risk my life to protect these three girls. I will do anything to make sure they are safe."

Ritsu gave her a smile and then the two quickly sat on the couch and began to talk animatedly again as if nothing had happened. Azusa looked at the two girls with a dumbfounded expression on her face.

_What just happened? Why do I feel like...this seems familiar? It sort of reminds me of…_

"Captain and Private."

Azusa looked up at Mugi; she was startled that the girl had answered her mind's question.

"Now that you say it Mugi...those two do remind me of them," Mio said quietly.

Azusa smiled at Mio's comment and looked back at the duo. Since she could only see the back of their heads, she did not see the shocked looks on their faces. On the other hand, Mugi had seen the two girls tense up and halt their conversation so they could listen. Knowing that the girls wanted to know if their secret was safe, Mugi prolonged it.

"Mio-senpai, that's silly though. Yui-senpai and Ritsu-senpai are only imitating the two superheroes because everyone is doing it," Azusa said with a gentle smile.

She still fondly recalled the time that she was rescued by the two heroes and even owned a poster of the two so she could stare at Private.

_I know my mother and father don't approve of the two heroes, but they really don't understand…_

"Well, I think Captain is the more irritating of the two. He always goes around acting like he's all that, it's so annoying."

Thinking that Captain was merely the drummer's idol, the irritated bassist continuously bashed him. The bassist didn't realize that each word she spoke was driving a knife deeper into Ritsu's heart. As the two raven-haired girls spoke, Mugi watched the brunettes on the couch with worried eyes. Blue eyes carefully examined the flinches of the drummer as the bassist continued to indirectly bash her.

"Going back to your previous statement, Azusa-Chan, you are wrong in saying that Yui-chan and Ricchan are copying the famed heroes."

Azusa looked at the blonde girl sitting in front of her with a puzzled look before realization hit the girl's eyes.

"Now that I think about it, Mugi...you're right. They've been at it since freshman year and the duo appeared sometime before school started."

Ritsu gave the guitarist next to her a worried look, but Yui seemed to intently listen to Mio's words.

"It's more likely that the heroes copied their antics, ne?" The keyboardist began to laugh and since Mugi's laugh was infectious, it caused the two raven-haired girls to join in.

"We need to distract them, Ricchan," Yui said softly to the girl next to her.

Before receiving an answer, the brunette stood up and walked over to her guitar. Ritsu made her way to the drum set as Yui quietly tuned her instrument. It frustrated the drummer to see that the other girls still hadn't abandoned their conversation, but she had to feign happiness.

"Pssst, Yui!"

"Hm?"

Brown eyes met amber and then the guitarist realized that she was not smiling. Feeling all of the tension evaporate, Yui flashed Ritsu an innocent smile.

When she saw the light appear back into Yui's eyes, Ritsu grinned, it was as if the two girls were connected. If one couldn't feign happiness or actually feel it, the other would struggle to do the same.

The airhead closed her eyes as she tried to think.  
_  
Still can't believe that they haven't noticed yet, but maybe we can capture their attention. I'll redirect our attention to us!_

Bobbing her head slightly, Yui closed her eyes as she thought of what to play. She gave Ritsu a thumbs up and a smile before facing forward again.

_Mio-chan, Mugi-chan, and even you, Azunyan, , let's all do this together and fix the mess that has been made._

* * *

Azusa looked at her senpais expectantly so they could clarify the question that was now in her head.

"Yes, believe it or not, Azusa-chan, Yui-chan and Ricchan have been calling each other Captain and Private since...well basically since they've known each other."

The words traveled from the blonde girl's mouth slowly and her eyes shone since she knew the secret. The pigtailed girl looked at Mugi in a bit of awe before sipping her tea again.

"Those two have been really quiet haven't they?"

Mio's voice was gentle and there was another part to it that Azusa heard that she didn't understand.

_Did her voice sound...longing?_

"Knowing Yui-senpai and Ritsu-senpai, they're probably asleep."

The pigtailed girl smiled at the thought of seeing Yui asleep, for some reason picturing the innocent, calm look that the airhead had when she slept made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. She quickly shook her head to push away the thoughts.

_ N-No! My heart belongs to Private...Wait am I even questioning that Yui-Senpai would have it?_

Once again the image of Yui's sleeping face flooded her mind as a blush made its way onto her cheeks. Azusa shook her head and closed her eyes.

_No no no..!_

"Well, even if they originally used it, they should stop because people might get confused!"

_Did I really just...say that?_

The girls sat in a bit of silence after their kouhai's comment before Mugi coughed to break it. Azusa was about to open her mouth to start a new topic in order to end the awkwardness that ensued when she heard a guitar being played and drum beats in the background.

Hearing the familiar tune that had made her want to join the club in the first place caused her to quickly face the two brunettes. The two girls sitting next to her looked at the guitarist and drummer in awe since they were the two that usually put off any sort of practice.

The keyboardist smiled at the girls, while Mio looked at Ritsu with a puzzled look. She was truly surprised to see that the energetic girl was playing alongside the airhead.

Azusa's attention was drawn to Yui's face and at an instant, garnet eyes met brown.

Without her realizing, Mugi and Mio had stood up to go to their respective spots and joined in.

Unlike during the concert, when Mio had to save the airhead since she forgot the lyrics, this time it was just Yui singing. The freshman felt her heart hitch when she noticed that the guitarist was looking straight at her when she sang.

A warm smile crawled onto the airhead's face as Mio joined in the singing. Just like at the concert, Azusa couldn't help but bob her head to the music. The airhead's voice had a soothing tone to it when she began to reach the end of the song.

_**This plan makes me excited, expanding it makes me too tired. Let's just staple everything together.**_**  
**  
Azusa couldn't help but keep staring into Yui's eyes. The brunette's brown eyes seemed to shine whenever she jumped around with Gitah.

_**Recalling the things I did today always makes my chest tighten. I ran out of staples, need to buy some more. Lala, see you tomorrow. ~**_

As the song finished up and everyone felt a wave of energy at the final chords, Azusa didn't notice that the guitarist had put down Gitah and walked over to her.

Tears welled up in her eyes and before she even noticed that she was crying, Azusa could feel the warm liquid rolling down her cheek. A pair of arms wrapped around her and she felt her senpai's cheek on hers.

"I really do promise to take care of you, Azunyan."

Not sure if she had actually heard those words since they were barely audible, Azusa leaned into her senpai's hug.

"Well guys...better start packing soon! The club probably won't meet again until it's time to go on the trip!"

Ritsu grinned at everyone before putting her arms behind her head. In all honesty, Ritsu and Yui were planning to explore the town before they left to make sure that all would be well so they wanted to end the meeting soon. But of course the other girls didn't know that except for Mugi.

"Well, to celebrate a job well done, let's officially welcome Azusa into the band. With all of the silliness we never really did have the chance did we?"

Mio gave the smaller girl a soft smile before sticking her hand out in the middle of the little circle that they had created. Realizing what she was doing, Ritsu placed her hand on top of hers.

Followed by Mugi and Yui, the girls looked at Azusa expectantly. The younger girl hesitated, but seeing the happiness in their eyes led her to shyly place her hand on top of Yui's.

Ritsu grinned and shouted, "To success in this upcoming camp!"

"Yeah!" The five girls shouted back as they lifted their hands into the air.

"For the cakes that Mugi-chan will bring!"

"Yea-wait what?" The four girls looked at Yui as they each sweat dropped.

"Y-Yui-senpai, is that really what's on your mind right now..?"

Azusa sweat dropped again as she apprehensively looked at her.

"Hehe."

Yui giggled as she rubbed the back of her head before Mio continued.

"For the sake of the band and to welcome our newest member, Azusa Nakano."

The five girls looked at each other and smiled before pumping their fists and yelling.

"Yeah!"

Just like earlier that day, the girls felt as if they were in a different world. Everything was calm until the opening of a door broke the atmosphere as two nervous girls entered the room.

"E-excuse me, is Hirasawa-san here?"

One girl nervously twirled her sandy-blonde hair while the other whose hair branched off into two curly pigtails had her arms crossed.

"Ah, I know you two! You're in our class. Wakaouji-san and Tachibana-san, right?" Ritsu grinned when both girls nodded before Mio hit her on the head.

"Idiot, can't you see that they need to talk to Yui?"

"Mou, that hurts! You're so mean, Mio-Chuan~"

"...Idiot."

As Ritsu snickered at her friend, the lead guitarist walked over to the girls. Azusa noticed that the one with sandy-blonde hair was eyeing Yui with some interest. Her heart panged strangely as she watched Yui walk away.

_What is happening to my body today? Am I getting sick or something…?_

From a distance, Azusa watched Yui's facial expressions in hopes that it would her them discover the topic. Much to her surprise, she noted that the others were doing the exact same.

* * *

"Hirasawa-San?"

The girl with the dark curly hair looked at Yui questioningly.

Yui giggled before speaking, "Just call me, Yui. I hope you don't mind that I will call you by your first name, Ichigo-chan."

Much to Yui's confusion the brightness of her smile seemed to unnerve the two girls.

"Um...Yui-chan, we have been asked by Yamanaka-Sensei to inform you that..." Ichigo trailed off before glancing away.

_Eh, what was that all about?_

Yui looked at her questioningly before Himeko spoke up.

"…S-She told us to notify you that Nodoka Manabe has been missing since yesterday at 5:40pm."

Immediately Yui felt the smile drop from her face. Her world seemed to crash vehemently into the ground while Himeko fretfully tugged at her hair without meeting the airhead's gaze.

"I-I'm sorry, but that's all that we know! P-please enjoy your day!" Ichigo trembled as she spoke before nudging Himeko.

The two girls stared at Yui for a few moments waiting for a response, but quickly turned around and ran out of the room when they received none.

_S-Sawa-chan must be j-joking… b-but if she was, w-why would it be something this mean?_

All Yui could do was stare at the empty doorway while she tried to gather her thoughts.

_It has to be a joke, it c-can't be real! IT JUST CAN'T B-_

"Yui-senpai…?"

Azusa's concerned voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

The brunette listened to footsteps approaching her from behind before she felt a small hand on her shoulder. Yui looked down at the ground using her bangs to shield her face.

Underneath her brown tresses, her eyes were blank and wide with shock. Her fists were slightly clenched as she fought back tears as the truth really set in.

_S-Sawa-chan hasn't come in to tell me that it was just a joke, but that means…N-No, they took Nodoka-chan? F-first Ui was h-hurt and now her… H-how many people are they going to keep doing this to? _

Yui felt Azusa remove her hand from her shoulder and walk in front of her before gasping. The sound alerted the others and they immediately ran over.

"Yui, what's wrong?" Ritsu asked.

"Y-Yui-chan are you okay?"

"..."

Yui blankly stared at the ground, the tears finally starting to slide down her cheeks.

Realization hit Ritsu's eyes before she looked at Yui with a blank expression. The girl's reaction reminded her of when she had found out that Ui was hurt.

_N-no, that blank look from when Ricchan was hurting from her brother's death is back!_

The club members looked helplessly at the normally happy airhead. Yui was still standing there with no smile visible on her face and her body still trembling.

_P-please let this be a dream._

The four girls were all confounded on what to do because they had never seen the airhead this broken. In order to hide any sadness, usually Yui was happier and more energetic than usual, but at this point in time that was not even an option.

* * *

_Yui-senpai..._

Azusa felt her heart ache and the desire to make the broken look disappear from the guitarist's face, the younger girl mustered her courage and leaned into Yui and wrapped her arms around her for the second time that day. This unusual action seemed to be enough to attract the girl's attention because some life reentered her eyes.

"Azunyan..."

Yui's voice was a barely audible whisper, but it was heard nonetheless. Yui wrapped her arms around her before looking up.

The older girl seemed to ponder something for a few seconds before cleared her throat and spoke.

"Those two told me that…Nodoka-chan is missing…"

Azusa felt Yui's arms tighten around her as a loud gasp was heard which was quickly followed by a loud thump. Mio had fallen to her knees; her bangs covered her face as she knelt in shock.

"N-Nodoka, W-why? She hasn't done anything wrong!"

Yui gave Mio a weak smile before glancing at the drummer and keyboardist. The three shared a knowing look before parting their sights from each other.

Yui looked down at the ground while Ritsu went to comfort her sobbing friend.

Azusa had noticed the glance and looked at all three of them in confusion.

_Do they know something?_

"Well since there is nothing that _we _can do, let's just post posters around town and contribute the best we can."

Mugi's voice held a tone of optimism which seemed to relax the girls.

Ritsu held a trembling Mio in her arms while she and Yui shared a serious look once again.

Azusa felt Yui squeeze her one last time before she left the embrace.

The room seemed a bit colder now that she didn't have a comfortable pair of arms around her. Azusa's insides squeezed uncomfortably as a strange feeling entered her system that she could only identify as...

_…Disappointment? Why would I be disappointed that Yui-senpai left my hug?_

The girl shrugged uncomfortably at the feeling as the door burst open again and two girls ran into the room.

"O-Onee-Chan, I-I heard that-"

"Ne Ui, be careful. You're hurt, you shouldn't be pushing yourself!" Jun panted as she scolded the pig-tailed girl who tripped on her way into the room.

Yui, who had seen this, had run over to her sister and caught her before she fell.

"It'll be okay, Ui, Nodoka-chan will be okay. I'll go find her myself if I have to." Yui's voice was weak, but effectively managed to convey her words.

Yui gave her sobbing sister a comforting smile as she carefully embraced her as to not hurt her injured arm further.

"B-but w-what could she have done wrong? Nodoka-chan is a good person!" Ui wailed into her sister's shoulder.

Yui continued to rub her younger sister's back soothingly and hugged the normally composed girl closely. The room was silent except for the sobs that came from both Mio and Ui.

The brunette's brown eyes trailed over to Mio who was being comforted by both Mugi and Ritsu. Since she had been separated from the three of them in the beginning of the year and been in a class with only Nodoka to really talk to, she had formed a close bond with her over the past few weeks.

_It's no wonder that Mio-chan is taking this pretty hard… She and Nodoka-chan were becoming really good friends…_

"It'll be okay, Ui. Nodoka-chan will be found safe and sound and nothing bad is going to happen to either of you," Yui murmured into her sister's ear before leaning back and smiling reassuringly at her.

Ui sniffled slightly before bringing up her non-broken arm and wiping her tears away. She sniffled once again before smiling back at Yui.

Yui removed her arms from around her sister and watched her as she slowly stood up and walked over to her friends. Yui watched quietly as Azusa and Jun reassured Ui and gave her hugs.

Azusa's garnet eyes briefly looked away from her younger sister and looked at hers. Yui tried to prevent the sadness on her face from showing by weakly smiling and glancing away.

The brunette then looked at Ritsu and then at Mugi who were both now examining her. Yui swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and gave them a brief nod.

Ritsu's eyes narrowed in understanding while she nodded back; meanwhile, sadness seemed to rise into Mugi's while she glanced at Ritsu and then back at her. After both girls nodded their agreement, they resumed the role of comforting Mio.

Yui glanced at both of the sobbing girls in the room before backing up against a wall. She closed her eyes and let herself slowly slide down to the floor before opening them again.

_Whatever we do… we have to work hard before we go on the trip. Now that Nodoka-chan is also involved, the stakes have been raised..._

* * *

**A/N:** Holy shiz….This chap is so darned long! I mean…I've tried my hardest to beta it and hopefully it wasn't too confusing! But yeah…the plot is kicking in and the pieces are slowly falling into place. If people have already started guessing, cool beans! I'd love to hear what you think is happening/going to happen. Although if you have a theory I will not confirm or deny if it is true. Once again, reviews and constructive criticism is appreciated! Thanks for reading it bros, Happy Holidays! ^ ^

~imuffinator out~


	6. Chapter 5: Cherchez la Femme

**Author's Note: **

Ah, it's the New Year! I honestly had a rough time with this chapter, not because it was hard to write, but because it was extremely long and after consulting my semi-beta, it was said to be wise and split it in half (Which is why this is going to be a pretty short chapter). I really hope you like it! :D Anywho, I shall stop blabbing now and let you get on with the story!

Extra: If you see a segment with "~" that indicates a flashback! Of course the one here is segmented, but just for future reference.

Disclaimer: I do not own K-ON! it belongs to Kakifly and KyoAni.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Cherchez la Femme**

"Everyone, please quiet down and listen to the announcement that I have to make."

As the class adjusted their seats to look at the teacher, Yui, who had been napping, merely brought her head up from the comfort of her folded arms and stared at the teacher.

"If you haven't been paying attention to the news as of late, I must sadly deliver the news that the class representative of class 2-1, Manabe Nodoka, has been pronounced missing."

The teacher pushed her glasses up higher on the bridge of her nose while she glanced down at a piece of paper. From where she was, Yui's brown eyes observed intently as the woman's hand that held the paper trembled.

"The authorities have asked the school to ask if any of you have heard or witnessed anything that can lead to her safe return. Please do not be afraid to alert the authorities if you know something," the teacher continued, it was obvious from the frown on her face and tone of voice that she disapproved of the actions taken in the matter.

_So even Miyazaki-sensei thinks that the authorities are not doing enough, ne?  
_  
Yui brought her left hand up to her mouth and worked to stifle an incoming yawn. Her half-shut brown eyes attempted to focus on the blurred woman standing in front of the class while she did so.

Yui nervously smiled when the teacher gave her a disapproving glance at the sight of her yawn.

_S-sorry Sensei! I was up late again last night with Ricchan! ...Of course you wouldn't know that but-_

Yui sheepishly rubbed the back of her head and glanced down at her desk.

"I don't think the police can do much in this situation... It's up to team Captivate."

The hushed whisper to Yui's right alerted her to the gossiping girls.

"You sure they can even do anything?"

"Yeah, I mean they're good at fighting, but have they ever tried their luck with a missing person?"

A half-smile worked its way onto Yui's face at the topic of the girl's conversation.

_We're trying...we're really trying..._

"Hem, hem."

Yui looked back at the front the classroom as their teacher cleared her throat to regain their attention.

"…Please quiet down girls, I know you are all in shock, but be respectful. Now if you could all pay close attention as your own class representative speaks, it would be quite helpful," the bespectacled woman smiled approvingly at the girl who had just stood up.

Yui's brown eyes followed the short-haired girl until she reached the front of the room. The moment that the girl turned to face everyone, Yui could see that everyone around her had sat up straighter.

The black-haired girl ran her hand through her short hair before setting her violet eyes on them. Her free hand tugged at the hem of her blazer as she prepared to speak.

"Good morning everyone, as you are all now aware, Manabe-San is not present. Following an important meeting with him, the headmaster decided to ask me to take charge of both second year classes. Of course, I would not shy away from such a duty and it is now up to me to fulfill the requirements necessary to run our class effectively," she stated in a slightly bored tone.

_Wait…does this mean what I think it means?_

"With that, I..." the girl's eyes flickered and met Yui's. A small smile worked itself onto her face before she continued, "...the daughter of Mayor Wada, Akira Wada, will do what it takes to make sure that all runs well in Manabe-san's absence. That is my promise to you all as class representative."

Yui froze up when she saw faint light of amusement on the Akira's face.

She quickly glanced around to see if anyone else had noticed it, but when she saw that no one, even Ritsu who seemed blissfully unaware of what had just occurred, Yui gulped.

"Thank you for the speech, Wada-San. Everyone please give Wada-San a round of applause for the responsibility that she's taken and the hard work that her father has done for this city," the teacher smiled proudly and clapped her hands which resulted in a roomful of clapping.

While Akira made her way back to her seat, Yui glanced down at her desk and bit her lip nervously. A sick feeling had developed in her stomach and her hands had started to tremble.

_W-why do I feel like there's something beyond Akira-san's words.._.?

She quickly glanced toward Akira's seat and saw that a group had gathered around the girl. Yui could faintly hear them asking about updates from her point of view.

"Wada-san, is it true that your dad is contacting the JSDF* to get Captain and Private?"

"Whaat?! Where'd you hear that? I heard the American SWAT Team is being involved!"

Yui meekly watched as Akira smirked and crossed her arms. Sure the girl's questions were pretty random, but the airhead could see that the mayor's daughter was amused with the attention.

"Don't worry everyone. I know that most of you…worship the ground that those two heroes walk on, but I know as little as you do. My father tells me nothing," Akira stated before placing her elbows on the desk and resting her chin on the back of her hands.

Yui sighed and was about to glance away when she heard something that chilled her to the core.

"Of course though, I have noticed that with the gang family growing hectic, they WILL be taking more apprehensive measures. Nakano-san, the chief of police, is working at this instant to discover what he can about the two heroes' connections to The Revolution," Akira slowly added before nonchalantly running her hand through her hair.

Yui watched as Akira seemed to frown when she reached the end of it. That was when Yui realized something.

_I'm pretty sure that…Wada-san used to have long hair…I wonder why she cut it all off…?_

Chocolate brown eyes scanned the room for Mugi and Ritsu. Mugi was diligently at her desk waiting for class to begin and Ritsu was napping.

Yui sighed before scratching the back of her head.

_I wonder how Mio-chan's homeroom is faring with Nodoka-chan gone…_ _I hope that Mio-chan is doing better now._

A weak smile worked its way onto Yui's lips as she used her positive energy to push the sick feeling in her gut away.

_...I feel like something bad is going to happen, but for now I have to stay focused… Nodoka-chan is waiting for me to find her. I can't get distracted now!_

**~K-ON!~**

"You've heard about what has been happening around the town lately, right, Ritsu?"

Ritsu sighed and reached up to scratch her cheek before placing her chopsticks down on the table.

"Yes mother and I know to be careful whenever I go out," Ritsu grumbled before returning her attention to her meal.

"Well, that's good and all, but...your father and I have something to address," her mother continued.

_Ah...so that's why she's being so...motherly right now. We NEVER have family dinners anymore._

Ritsu's amber eyes looked up to examine both of her parents. Ever since the death of her brother, which now felt like ages ago, even though it had been one month, both of her parents rarely spent time at home and worked every day.

It seemed to Ritsu that in a mere month, the two adults seemed to have rapidly age and appeared much older than they actually were.

Ritsu watched her parents exchange a look before her fathers sighed and glanced at her.

"…We know that things have been rough ever since Satoshi's death-"

At the sound of her deceased brother's name, Ritsu couldn't help but flinch.

The tawny haired girl clenched her fist and looked down at the table; she forced herself to inhale slowly in order to not break her image of being calm.

Her father looked at her sadly before scratching his cheek. Ritsu noted that her mother's face had remained an impassive mask from the start of the conversation and that she continued to eat her meal as if it wasn't happening.

"…But ever since your friend's father, aka your mother's coworker, Hirasawa-san went missing, and now with the news of Manabe-san's daughter been kidnapped… your mother and I wanted to point out that we've noticed that you've been going out much more often," He slowly continued.

"So, what does that have to do with anything?" Ritsu bitterly asked.

She watched her mother sigh and carefully lay down her chopsticks next to her plate.

"What your father and I would like to know is two things, Ritsu. One would be why you go out so much, and two, if you are hiding anything," her mother softly replied.

_Damn, how do I get out of this? Why have they decided to point this out NOW?! I mean, I know they're worried, but damn, I gotta go out with Yui soon to do another round around the city._

"I'm not hiding anything, mother. I go out to visit Mio because no one's ever home…but you wouldn't know that would you?" Ritsu bluntly responded.

A feeling of guilt entered Ritsu's gut when she saw the hurt look in her mother's eyes. She knew that it wasn't her parent's fault that they had to work much more now, especially now that The Revolution was causing mayhem.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude," Ritsu mumbled before glancing off to the side.

Her eyes wandered the room until they landed on the picture of her brother. Feeling her stomach tighten up again, she forced herself to glance away.

"If this was a normal time and things weren't so wild, I would have believed your statement, Ritsu, but I've spoken to Mio-chan's mother and she says that you haven't been over in ages," her mother softly replied.

Ritsu tensed up and glanced up at her mother. Her eyes were wide in shock as she glanced into her mother's own amber.

"By observing your reaction, I will assume that is true," her mother sighed before glancing at her husband.

She rubbed her temples and faced her daughter again before adding, "Ritsu, in order to prevent another _incident _from happening again, we need to make sure that you have no involvement with the town's 'heroes' whatsoever. I know that you have heard plenty in school about the trouble they have caused and I don't want you to get foolish thoughts into your head thinking that they are helping the community."

A slight smirk made its way onto Ritsu's face while her mother spoke.

_…About the trouble that WE'VE caused? Oh mom, if only you knew…_

"Ritsu, we aren't asking much from you, but please, we heard from Nakano-san that her daughter was assaulted by the two delinquents," her father added.

At this statement, Ritsu's eyes widened in surprise.

_E-Eh…assaulted…? Wait a minute…wasn't that when we-_

"That is not true!" Ritsu shouted causing her parents to jump.

Ritsu felt blood rush to her cheeks in embarrassment.

"I-I mean, I don't think that they would do that! I-I I've…met them before…" She whispered.

_Argh maybe this will satisfy them…_

"...That's…uh… the secret that I've been hiding, mom and dad…I, uh, met them and I was afraid that you would, err- get mad at me," Ritsu continued before glancing up at her parents.

The two adults glanced at each other before her father shrugged and turned to face her again.

"…Well, I can't say that I'm too happy, but at least you are not hiding a secret boyfriend or something," her father smiled.

"H-haha, yeah!" Ritsu nervously laughed.

_If only you knew how I feel about my best friend though…_

"I can see why you hid this from us, but please for future references let us know ahead of time. If those two vandals can be apprehended and put behind bars, then it will save us all a load of trouble," her mother frowned.

At her mother's comment, Ritsu narrowed her amber eyes and glared at her.

_Heh, so she wants to put her own kid behind bars, eh?_

"Now, now, Hitomi, trust your daughter. She hasn't hidden anything too huge, so I don't think that you should be too hard on her," her father laughed.

"You don't understand, Poppo, it's just that…I have this weird feeling," her mother sighed before shaking her head and adding, "Okay, if you're done with dinner you can go, Ricchan. Thank you for easing an old woman's mind."

At the sight of her mother's smile and the use of her old nickname, Ritsu felt the guilt in her stomach increase. She weakly smiled at her parents before excusing herself and bringing her plates to the kitchen.

_…Sorry mom and dad…This is something that I HAVE to do… Things are getting too out of hand for me to just sit back and do nothing._

As Ritsu gathered her equipment and headed toward the door, she glanced at Satoshi's picture once again. She placed her things on the floor on knelt in front of the little altar. After ringing the bell, she closed her eyes and put her hands together.

_Heh, I really miss you Toshi…To think that if we hadn't been in the plaza day…you'd still be here…_

Ritsu hastily wiped the tears that had begun to stream down her cheeks and picked up her bag.

No matter the consequence, she had to keep going. She wouldn't be able to rest easy until she found Nodoka and made sure she was safe.

_That's all I can do right now to make it up to you, little brother…I mean...it IS my fault that you're gone…_

**~K-ON!~**

**Honk!**

"An annoyed driver that can't wait for the car in front of him to turn…"

**Beeep!**

"The car behind him that's now honking because the other car hasn't budged…"

**Woof woof!**

"And now they've annoyed a dog that'll keep barking until the chaos dies down…"

Yui sighed before putting down her binoculars.

The sounds of the city were faint from the area where two figures stood. The wind was mildly blowing, but the thinness of their clothes didn't prevent the breeze from reaching their skin.

Yui rubbed her gloves together in an attempt to warm herself.

"Ricchan, I know that it's 60 degrees out, but this wind is making it so cold!" Yui whimpered as she continued shivering.

The goggled girl next to her weakly smiled and shrugged.

From the rooftop that they were standing on, everything below looked like a model set and unrealistic. The sky was a shade of indigo that blended into an azure blue as it met the skyline of the illuminated city.

The people below looked like tiny ants and the cars like toys. Yui smiled down at the sight and gazed at it longingly. She shook her head vehemently when she remembered that they were on a mission.

_That's right! Nodoka-chan is missing!_

At the thought the smile vanished from her face as her happy thoughts wavered.  
_  
That's right she's gone…_

A sudden pat on the back caused her to jump and look at her partner. Yui noticed that Ritsu had pushed her goggles up. Since she didn't have her headband on, the goggles pushed her bangs up, causing them to stick up in various spikes.

"Hehe, Ricchan…"

"What's up?"

Confusion came over the girl as the airhead giggled.

"With your hair like that…you look like a pineapple."

"S-shut up, it's just how my bangs are!"

Yui smiled widely at the sudden embarrassment that overcame the drummer. The airhead wasn't aware that Ritsu used to refer to herself as a pineapple in order to coach Mio on public speaking when they were younger.

At that moment, a strong gust of wind hit the two girls hard causing them both to simultaneously shiver and stoop low.

"Tsk, today's just turning out to be a horrible day," Ritsu whined as she pulled her goggles down over her eyes.

The shimmer of the moon gave the girl a glow causing her to seem other worldly. Yui watched her in slight awe and wondered if the moon had the same effect on her. Her train of thought was interrupted when a sudden static noise alerted their attention to the small police radio that lay between them.

_**"...Fight on 44th street. Whether imposter or not, can't tell. Figure is causing trouble."  
**__  
_Yui and Ritsu glanced at each other anxiously before glancing back down at the radio.

_**"…It seems that it COULD be the imposter, hooded figures are appearing. No, no wait, it can't be...No, no, it IS the imposter! Wait...T-That's the IMMEDIATE BACKUP, I REPEAT, REQUESTING IMMEDIATE BACKAARGHH... Bbbzzzzzt. "**_

With wide eyes Yui gazed at the radio before looking up at Ritsu who was nervously scratching her cheek as she thought of what to do.

"Well, I guess we're going down to 44th street, Private. Looks like we're going to finally meet the imposter," Ritsu weakly laughed as she stood up.

_T-the imposter...? W-why can't people just see that we're trying to help? Spread peace, love, cake, and happiness all around?_

Yui sighed as she stood up after Captain. She pulled out what seemed to be a hook attached to a device from her utility belt and aimed it at a building.

"Be careful that you don't miss, Yui. There might not be a balcony to catch you this time," Ritsu grinned as she pulled out her own hook.

Yui couldn't help but smile back and rub the back of her head. She remembered that near death experience clearly. It had been her lack of paying attention that nearly killed her in the first place.

* * *

~ _"Whoa, Mugi-chan, it's like Ricchan and me are Batman and Robin and you're our trusty butler Alfred!"_

_"...You could phrase it better than that, Yui! Thanks for everything you've done Mugi! You've been a great help! If you ever need anything, we've already told ya that you don't need to ask!"_

_Yui watched Mugi turn a bright shade of red at Ritsu's words._

_Yui smiled as she thought: **Could Mugi-chan have feelings for Ricchan?**_

_As Yui pondered that thought, she missed Mugi's brief explanation on how to use the grappling hook. Before she knew it, the blonde had taken them to the roof of her house._

_"Woo! I'm pumped! Aren't you, Private?" Ritsu jumped around happily as they neared the edge._

_Yui walked over to the edge and looked at the device in her hand with a confused look on her face. She put a finger to her lips and looked up at her friends._

"_Get ready, Private, this is the moment that separates us from the rest!"_

"_H-hai, Ricchan, but wait what are we-"_

"_Okay then, make mama proud!"_

_Confused at the lack of instructions, Yui turned as she watched Ritsu rush toward her with her arms outstretched._

_"..Ano, what do I do with-agh!"_

_The moment she had started speaking, Ritsu pushed her off of the edge. With her life flashing before her eyes and adrenaline rushing through her system, she clumsily aimed the hook at a flagpole over a balcony._

_With the wind completely engulfing her, Yui could just barely hear Mugi yelling in panic._

_"Ricchan, she wasn't paying attention!"_

_After she heard grappling hook click, she watched in awe as a string shot out and latched onto the area right above the flagpole._

_"A-Ah!" Yui yelped as she approached the building._

_At that moment she had realized how dangerously close the wall was getting and that she had no idea how to make the device let go._

_"Where's the break on this- Oof!"  
_

_Yui collided into the wall and dropped to the ground. She groaned in pain before rubbing the side of her head._

_"I'm coming Yui! Whoa, watch out!"_

_Yui looked up to see Ritsu heading toward her._

_"W-wait, Ricchan, slow down we're gonna cras-"_

_The drummer grinned and hooked the device moments before she collided with Yui, but after she let go, she landed on the airhead._

_"Hehe, sorry, Yui. But I guess this teaches you to pay attention next time?"_

_Ritsu laughed before noticing that Yui had frozen up_.

"_Eh, Yui? Youu, you okay?"_

_And that was the last thing she heard before it all went black.~_

* * *

Yui smiled when she remembered that the following day turned out to be a big mess since Mio, Ui, and Azusa had constantly questioned why she was covered in bandages.

_Oh well, I can do this now! I know what to do!_

Yui looked up at the building and aimed at her target. Since the two were going building jumping, she thoroughly examined her surroundings for a stable place to hook onto.

After a few seconds of glancing, she saw a stable looking statue of a lion that had a balcony underneath.

_Ready-_

She closed one eye and carefully aimed the gun.

_Set-_

She took a deep breath and quickly pressed the trigger.

_Gooooo!_

The strength of the hook lifted her off of her feet and into the air as the device retracted toward her destination. If someone was looking up at the sky, he would have seen someone "flying".

After clicking the button again to let go, Yui landed on her feet and stumbled forward. She smiled to herself at the success of her attempt.

Not long after, she saw Ritsu land next to her. The airhead flashed the girl a peace sign before looking around.

"Hm, 44th street should be down there, Ricchan," Yui whispered as she walked toward the edge of the building.

"T-this…this is the place where he-" Ritsu softly whispered as she peered down into the plaza.

Yui gave her an anxious glance.

_Where he…? Who's he?_

Yui glanced down at the plaza and frowned. Sure enough, blue and red lights could be seen flashing in a giant circle around the area.

_So they've cornered the imposter!_

Yui smiled to herself as she aimed the device lower near another building so she could go down. After quickly pressing the button, she shot forward and then pressed it again to drop onto a roof of a convenience store.

Unlike the previous time, she didn't have as much luck and shouted as she crashed into a wall. As Yui gathers her bearings, she noticed that everything seemed amplified as they got closer to the ground because she could hear the screaming had become much clearer.

"Wait, so now there are two?!"

Yui looked down to find the speaker, but immediately froze up as she looked at the middle of the plaza.

_Is that...me? Wait, but I'm here…Am I dreaming?_

She pinched her cheek and tugged on it. Yui winced at the sudden pain and allowed her jaw to drop at the sight in front of her.

There, clad in a red costume with a yellow cape fluttering the wind, the other Private saw that she was looking at him and smiled.

_W-what...? That can't be..._

"Whoa, no wonder they got confused...you look similar," Ritsu whispered.

Yui gave Ritsu a worried glance when she heard the people down below begin to panic.

"Boss, which one do we shoot?"

"Oh no, which one is real?"

"Isn't the one with Captain real? But then who's that?!"

"ACKKK!"

Yui frowned slightly as she observed the panicked officers down below. The sharp crack of a gunshot startled her as she felt something graze her cheek.

"Tch, they're shooting at you, damn it! You guys are wrong! That's the imposter!" Ritsu shouted before pointing down and tackling Yui to the ground.

"They're just shooting everywhere! They're going to kill us at this rate."

Yui heard the drummer growl as she got off of her.

_W-Why are they firing at me? _

Yui felt her cheeks warm up as she looked down at the chaos. The officers were shooting everywhere; meanwhile, the imposter seemed to have disappeared.

"Wha-? Ricchan he's gone," Yui whispered in shock.

The unexpected silence from the drummer sent a wave of panic through Yui as she turned around.

"Riccha-"

Yui never finished her sentence as a gasp escaped her lips. Standing in front of her, she saw her doppelgänger standing near two masked figures that were holding Captain down. One figure had a smile depicted on its mask and the other a grimace with a tear running down its cheek.

"Hirasawa Yui."

The doppelgänger sneered as a cold smirk adorned his face.

"How unfortunate for you to be here," the figure continued in an icy tone.

Yui sat up and backed herself up into the wall. From what she could hear, the commotion down below had escalated as the officers fought a large wave of masked figures. A surge of fear overcame Yui's body as she stared at the imposter.

"W-who...w-who are you?" Yui gasped.

Her voice felt strangled as she looked at the imposter with a horrified expression. At her words the other Private merely smiled coldly at her before walking toward her.

"I am good, yet I am bad. It doesn't really matter though because in the end, I'll be the winner," the figure smirked as he coolly spoke.

_Good...and bad? How could someone be good AND bad?  
_  
Yui's eyes trailed over to the pinned drummer, the girl continuously struggled against the grip that the two other figures had on her.

"Hirasawa Yui, I have come here today to tell you stay out of The Revolution's path. We have much in store for this city, but your interfering has caused trouble. Same goes for you, Tainaka. If you two return to your normal lives, you might be spared," the imposter droned as she approached Yui and knelt down in front of her before continuing," It was nice meeting you both, however, next time I will not be as merciful."

"W-wait, I-I don't get understand," Yui cried out, nearly in tears, her throat felt dry and her stomach was churning.

The figure in front of her smiled before patting her head.

"Your friend has gone missing, right?"

The airhead tensed up at the question. Her reaction seemed to please the imposter as he coldly chuckled. The doppelgänger reached for Yui's utility belt and took out a circular sphere from one of its slots.

"Nodoka Manabe, yet another innocent citizen with unfortunate connections to the City council… Oh you'll see her soon enough, maybe just not in the way you planned," the imposter smiled as he looked at the sphere.

He abruptly stood up and turned around to walk away before adding, "Waka and Tachi, let's go. We're done for now."

"H-hai, Boss!"

The imposter threw down a smoke bomb and walked into the cloud of smoke. Both the followers that held down the drummer disappeared into the smoke after the figure. Yui remained frozen and continued to stare at the fading smoke. Everything seemed blank and there was an empty feeling in her gut.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and fought back tears...

_W-what do they want with us...? _

She clenched her fist and glanced down at it.

_More importantly…why do they want Nodoka-chan?_

* * *

_A/N:_

Well, this chapter is really short compared to the previous one, but I figured why not shorten it? Hope you all enjoyed the next installment of BAS :D The action is stirring up now! Haha, but there's still more to come – 3-! Anyhoo, working on the next part of this, which used to be the second half, which means that it shouldn't take too long to be done in the editing process.

Once again, this was not beta'd. ^ ^; I picked this title for a reason :D! It's a french phrase and it means Looking for the Woman. I sort of found it fitting. o u o... It's also a catchy song xD!

I need to go ask around, but I have no time for that. With midterms being dangerously close, I really need to get my head in the game and focus on school! xD

Haha, reviews and constructive criticism is appreciated! Thanks for taking the time read it.

Until next time!

~imuffinator


	7. Chapter 6: Imagining

**Author's Note:** I'm really sorry for taking so long with this one…There was a part that I had to keep redoing because…of well, you'll find out. I haven't had much time to work on this due to school, but I'll try to use my muse when I have free time! Hopefully you guys enjoy this! Hehe, I'll stop blabbering and get on with the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own K-ON! it belongs to Kakifly and KyoAni.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Imagining**

"Damn it."

Ritsu squeezed her fist in frustration and slammed it onto the ground.

She hissed in pain, but immediately dismissed it due to her growing frustration.

She had remained still while the imposter spoke with Yui, but that was only because she had been pinned down.

_If those two hadn't pinned me down…I would have ended this once and for all!_

The tawny haired girl closed her eyes in irritation before inhaling and stretching the fingers that ached from the punch. She had managed to relax for a few seconds when the imposter's words once again reentered her mind.

"_**If you two return to your normal lives, you might be spared**__**…**__**We have much in store for this city, but your interfering has caused trouble…"**_

A surge of anger overcame the small girl as she sat up.

_So this…this…fake basically said that Satoshi's death was meaningless? That is was HIS fault for being in the plaza with me that day?! He did NOTHING wrong!_

Ritsu rubbed her arms and glanced over at where the imposter had been before she walked over to where Yui was.

"You okay, Yui? Heh, we really messed up didn't we?" Ritsu's voice was shaky and weak.

Yui nodded slowly and closed her eyes. Ritsu glanced away from her face and walked over to the edge of the roof. She glanced down at the quiet plaza and noticed that the blue and red lights were still flashing, but that everything seemed to have quieted down.

Her amber eyes narrowed as she watched the remaining police officers fight off the last of the masked figures.

_Red…and blue…and black cloaks… This place hasn't changed much since a month ago…huh?_

Tears welled up into Ritsu's eyes as she pushed up her goggles and wiped them before they made their way down her cheeks. The sudden wail of a child crying and an ambulance in the distance threatened crumbled the wall that she had tried to keep up.

_N-no, now isn't the time...I have to stay strong for Yui!_

The closer the ambulance got to the scene, the more unwanted memories seemed to return as Ritsu continued glancing down at the panic that was still occurring down below. A news van was on its way and people were now starting to gossip and share their takes on the events.

_Grgg-damnit!_

Ritsu took in the scene of dying panic before shakily inhaling and closing her eyes.

* * *

_~"Onee-chan, hurry up or we're going to be late!"_

_"Calm down, Satoshi, we have plenty of time until that damn party." Ritsu groaned before placing her hands behind her head._

_Her younger brother shook his head at her and frowned. His dark brown hair seemed to emphasize the disappointment in his amber eyes._

_"But onee-chan, mom said that this is important!" He grumbled before folding his arms._

_"Ah, fine, but have fun getting through this large crowd," Ritsu stated while gesturing at the vast number of people in the plaza._

_It was the time of the day where most people got out of work; a majority of them were in a hurry to go home. Out of the corner of her eye, Ritsu saw that a small group of people were standing on a platform. Upon further inspection, she saw that one was shouting into a loudspeaker._

_"Oi, Satoshi wanna check that out?" Ritsu curiously asked her brother._

_"Ehh, but onee-chan, we really need to go!" Her brother whined._

_Ignoring her brother's response, Ritsu made her way toward the crowd of people and used her height to her advantage to weave her way through to reach the front._

_In the center, Ritsu saw three masked figures and a girl with long black hair holding up flyers. Her amber eyes did not leave the man with the loudspeaker as he spoke into it._

_"Are you all going to listen to what the mayor has to say? He hasn't done anything but fill his pockets with YOUR money!"_

_"What's he saying? The mayor's done pretty decent things for us…"_

_Ritsu turned to face her brother who seemed to have followed her into the crowd. She weakly smiled at him before glancing back at the man. Even though he seemed sketchy, she couldn't help but agree with him._

_"Are you all going to stand back and watch as he exploits your family and friends for his own benefit?"_

_The crowd around them roared no. Ritsu glanced around and saw the angry spark in their eyes and quickly grabbed onto her brother's hand._

_"Onee-chan, what's h-happening?" Satoshi nervously stammered while glancing around at the agitated people._

_"And the members of the city council haven't done anything and just watched. Do we want people like that controlling our city?!"_

_"NO!" The crowd of people roared again._

_"S-Satoshi, keep close, okay… I'm gonna get us out of here," Ritsu tugged at her brother's hand and backed up before bumping into someone._

_A tall man wearing a business suit blankly stared at her for a few second before recognition dawned on his face._

_"Wait a minute, those amber eyes… You're Tainaka-san's kids aren't you?!" The man shouted._

_Ritsu tensed up and pulled her brother behind her while looking around at the people who had all directed their gazes toward them._

_"N-no, sir, m-my name is…Y-Yui H-Hirasawa and this is…R-rikku," Ritsu stuttered out._

_"Hirasawa, no way!"_

_"Only Tainaka-san has eyes like those! Those are her kids!"_

_People yelled out different comments causing Ritsu to shrink back. When she backed up against a wall, she swallowed and glanced up again. The man with the loud speaker seemed to be talking to the other two masked figures._

_"This is our chance! Get revenge for what they've done!"_

_"W-wait, there must be some sort of misunderstanding!" Satoshi yelled out._

_"Get them!"_

_"But they're just kids! Leave them alone!"_

_Ritsu watched in horror as the people began to fight amongst each other. Some were fighting to try to get to her and her brother and those who realized that it was morally wrong, fought to keep them safe._

_"Onee-chan, run!" Satoshi yelled as he took the lead and dragged his sister away from the wall._

_Both siblings weaved their way through the brawls that had begun. It was terrifying to see how in mere moments a whole square of people seemed to have turned against each other._

_Ritsu's amber eyes glanced around, the fight had spread out throughout the entire square and now even innocent bystanders had gotten involved. It had now become a matter of self-defense in order not to get hurt._

_"T-this is horrible," Ritsu whispered in shock._

_"Onee-chan, watch out"! Satoshi yelled and Ritsu turned around just in time to see the masked man who had started the riot holding up a gun._

_"THE REVOLUTION BEGINS NOW!" He shouted._

_Ritsu didn't have time to react as the piercing crack of a gunshot sliced the silence. She closed her eyes and waited for the bullet to hit, but instead of feeling pain, she felt small hands push her away._

_The screaming in the area seemed to intensify following the firing of the gun and Ritsu turned around only to see Satoshi kneeling down on the ground clutching his side._

_"S-Satoshi, w-what the hell?" Ritsu cried out in disbelief._

_Her eyes filled up with tears as she glared up at the figure with the gun. She didn't hesitate as she ran over to elbow him in the stomach while he was frozen. She scowled down at the man before kicking him hard in the groin. In the process, she watched as his mask slipped off and revealed his young face._

_She glared down at him with pure disgust as she kicked his mask away. Unable to control herself because this man had caused her brother pain and endangered her life, Ritsu began to punch him._

_After a few moments, Ritsu realized what she had done and quickly backed away in horror. The man was covered in what was sure to become dark bruises and it had been her fault._

_Remembering that her brother had been injured, Ritsu ran over to her him; out of the corner of her eye, she saw the girl with long-black hair from the rally run over to the collapsed man. Ritsu chose to ignore her though and tended to her brother._

_"S-Satoshi, a-are you okay?" Ritsu softly whispered._

_The tears in her eyes were threatening to slide down her cheeks as she took in the sight of her innocent younger brother covered in blood. After a few moments of hearing no response, Ritsu gently shook him once again._

_"…Toshi?" She weakly whispered, her voice was hoarse and the tears had broken through her barrier._

_Holding her brother's still body, Ritsu sniffled and glanced around. It sounded as if less people were fighting and the sound of gunshots pierced the air as the distant sirens indicated that the police and paramedics were on their way._

_"I-It'll be okay, Satoshi. I-I just gotta m-move you off to the side," Ritsu cried while moving her brother's limp body against a wall._

_After she had carefully placed him against the wall, she placed her hand against his cheek. His skin felt a lot cooler and looked a lot paler than it had a few moments ago. Just as she was about to let herself cry once again, Ritsu heard her brother speak._

_"O-onee-chan, b-be careful," he weakly whispered._

_"Hm, what do you mean Satoshi?" Ritsu softly replied._

_"I-I mean look out behind you…t-that man… is going to… miss!"_

_His amber eyes widened in horror as he used his remaining strength to push her away. The piercing sound of a gunshot along with the gasp of pain from her brother led Ritsu to see that he had sacrificed himself once again._

_"S-Satoshi…?" Her voice cracked as the tears returned._

_"G-go, o-onee-chan…its d-dangerous o-out he-"he weakly spat._

_"Satoshi…? SATOSHI?!" Ritsu wailed and shook her brother._

_Satoshi gave her a weak smile before a gurgling noise came from his throat and blood dripped out from the side of his mouth. Ritsu tensed up as her brother's body stiffened._

_She then continuously shook his body as the tears slid down her cheeks._

_"...Toshi, wake up, please! I-If you wake up...I'll let you read all my manga!" She pleaded while hugging him close._

_"I-I won't tease you a-anymore and let you u-use my drums without yelling at you!" Ritsu placed her hand on his cool cheek again before continuing, "P-please d-don't leave me...S-satoshi..."_

_Ritsu wailed before burying her head in her brother's shoulder and letting her emotions consume her. She stayed like that, holding her dead brother close, for what seemed to be forever until a voice called out to her._

_"Hey, miss, are you okay?"_

_Approaching footsteps seemed to quicken after the statement._

_"Oh shit, that's Tainaka-san's kids! Get the EMTs here ASAP!"_

_Ritsu glanced up and watched in horror as the police officers ripped her brother out of her grasp and brought him over to the ambulance that had arrived. It was then that she glanced around and finally took in the sight around her._

_What had once been a happy and lively square, had turned into a blood-filled riot in mere seconds._

_Instead of everyone being happy and thinking that they were going home to see their families, a majority were all now lying face down in their own pools of blood and others seemed injured to the point where there was no way that they could liv-_

* * *

"RICCHAN!"

Ritsu's amber eyes widened when she realized that she had spaced out.

"Uh…sorry, I spaced out…did you say something?" Ritsu weakly whispered while turning to look back at Yui.

"I was saying that…that person knew our names."

Ritsu looked down at the ground for a few seconds and felt her stomach churn uncomfortably when she realized that the brunette was right.

"I-I'm scared Ricchan. What do we do?" Yui whimpered as she reached out toward the drummer.

Ritsu grabbed onto her hand and pulled her up from the ground. She refused to meet the girl's eyes as she glanced away.

"...There is only one thing that we can do," she whispered hoarsely.

_If what I remember is right…then the Revolution is related to what's happening today…that means…I should let Yui and Mugi know…_

"We take that training camp seriously. A-and don't worry about the imposter knowing out names. I'll tell Mugi ASAP and then we can figure this out. It'll be o-okay, so don't cry," Ritsu weakly continued as she tried to smile.

Yui slowly nodded as she looked down.

_Does this new revelation put Ui and Yui in more danger? And…isn't Azusa's mom in the town's council too? ...that also means they might be coming after me again soon too..._

Ritsu picked up her fallen grappling hook and nonchalantly aimed it at the building.

"Let's go, Yui…I have something important to tell you when we get back…" She weakly whispered.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yui give her a worried frown and then nod.

_I promise I'll get revenge Satoshi… I'll get Nodoka back and make sure no one else gets hurt… I won't let allow anyone to die because of The Revolution again._

**-  
K-ON!  
-**

"Things worked out much better than expected didn't they boss?"

Himeko freed her hair from her ponytail after speaking.

The imposter smirked at her before sitting down on a chair.

"Yes, yes much better than I had hoped. Now that they're both startled we can introduce the next phase."

The girl removed her wig and showed the others her short black hair. She looked at the brown mess in her hands before throwing it down onto the ground.

_From what I saw, those two were equally terrified._

A cold grin formed on her face as she laughed to herself.

"Ne, boss, can Hime-chan and I go home now? Our parents will most likely worry if we don't rush," the girl with curly pigtails blankly asked.

"Yes, yes Ichigo you can go soon. Besides I don't want you to be here when I work on our...guest."

The black-haired girl looked over at a figure that had previously gone unnoticed. She stood up while she placed a mask on her face and walked over to the girl. The brunette was covered in bruises and scratches.

"Ah, Manabe-San, how unfortunate for you that I found you... Also, that I knew your connection to the city's wonderful council. Your father's involvement is the main reason that you are here with us today!"

The bound girl looked up at her in fear.

The girl's glasses lay on the ground and since she had been tortured, the little movements that she made caused her to squirm in pain. The imposter reached over the girl to wipe the blood on her brow. She smiled when she saw the latter flinch.

"Haha, how interesting... You'll find out soon enough how easily connections can drag you down."

Her voice had a silky, dangerous tone as she spoke. She pitied the girl in front of her, but at the same time she didn't because things happened when you were involved with the wrong people.

_You were just at the wrong place, at the right time….Just like Tainaka's brother in the plaza that day… and...Maede, that idiot…_

She wrinkled her nose in irritation at the memory of that day and continued.

"Oh, don't worry Manabe. You'll be free to roam again soon."

"W-what do you want with me? What do you want with Yui and Ritsu?" Nodoka whispered weakly, her voice growing more confident after each word.

The masked girl half-smiled at her question. The girl lying on the ground gave her a confused look.

"...Revenge for interfering with my plans. It'll all make sense soon. As soon as all of the pieces are set in their place," the girl coldly laughed.

The black haired girl picked Nodoka up and walked her over to a chair. After carefully strapping her to it, she placed a helmet on her head.

"W-what are you doing? W-who are you?" Nodoka called out in fear.

"Since you won't remember this for much longer, I might as well show you," she said with a slight smile as she removed her mask and turned on the machine.

Nodoka's eyes widened in horror as she gasped, "Wait a minute, you're Akir-arghhhh."

As the room was filled with Nodoka's pained yells, Akira walked over to a table. She rapped her fingers on it as she examined the billboard she had on the wall.

On it were pictures and newspaper clippings of the two heroes. Akira looked down at a list of names.

"Hm, Hm, Hm, ah Manabe, here he is," she coolly whispered before putting a check next the name.

Violet eyes looked over the list again, pulled out a pen to scribble notes on it and examined the names carefully.

**City Representatives:**

**1) Manabe- Daughter in custody.**

**2) Hikaru Hirasawa- whereabouts unknown, daughters under surveillance**

**3) Hitomi Tainaka- home kept under surveillance, both daughter and own whereabouts k****nown**

**4) Aoi Nakano- whereabouts known, home under watch**

**5) Tamaki Kotobuki- whereabouts currently unknown, main residence under watch**

**6) Yukiatsu Wada- whereabouts known, movements under constant surveillance.**

_How unfortunate that so many of my classmates are involved my father's corrupt work._

Akira sighed before recalling what her cohorts had told her about the light music club.

"A training camp, hm? It'll be the best time to bring you back, Manabe-San," she laughed.

Those two girls would not know what hit them. Her plans for revenge were working out much better than expected. The imposter brought a pouch filled with a white powder toward Nodoka's limp body.

_With this drug that Maede…_

The image of the man who had helped during the riot appeared in her head as she squeezed the small pouch in anger.

_…With this damn drug that the dumb fool helped me import before he was incarcerated again, the tables are going to turn…_

Akira placed a medical mask over her face and glanced down at the pouch in her hands. Even catching a whiff of this drug would put her under its control. She had to extremely careful whil handling it.

The black haired girl sighed and took out the tiniest grain of white powder that she could possibly get and added it into the IV mixture before she attached the needle into the squirming girl's arm.

Akira slightly narrowed her eyes as she whispered,

"From this day forth, you'll be working for me... whether you like it or not… Welcome to the Revolution. Let the games begin."

**-  
K-ON!  
-**

"I can't believe it! We're actually going to do something! I mean I thought we would never do anything as a club, but we're going on an actual trip!"

Azusa looked around the mall in wonder as she followed the older girls. When the drummer had told them that they were going on a trip, she couldn't help but feel excited.

"What's this trip for anyway? Are we buying materials for our instruments? Guitar picks? Strings…?" She excitedly rambled.

Not paying attention, she didn't notice that Yui had abruptly stopped, so she crashed into her. She heard the drummer and lead guitarist yell.

"We're here!"

Azusa looked up hoping to see a music store but she froze up at what she did see.

"We're here for bathing suits!" Ritsu said with a thumbs-up.

Azusa couldn't help but sweat-drop in disappointment.

"I know that you're disappointed Azusa, but the club needs outings like this to function," Mio stated to calm her.

Azusa watched in awe as Mugi nodded in agreement. Azusa couldn't help but sigh when she saw Ritsu drag Mio into the store.

The Light Music Club...all we're ever going to do is goof off, huh?

To prevent the others from seeing her frown, Azusa glanced away. A newspaper headline caught her attention while she looked around.

**"Seeing Double, Private Vs. Private" Rise of The Revolution.**

Yesterday night at the plaza between 44th and 45th street, cops were baffled when they spotted double.

"I was scared out of my wits when I saw there was two. Then someone shot at the newly arrived one and we all panicked!" Officer Takagana said when asked about the incident.

A recent interview has confirmed that there are indeed two Privates. People are warned to look out for Captain so they know when to identify the fake. However, the problem that continues to bring up questions is the one regarding Private's interactions with The Revolution, a terrorist group that has vandalized many actions of Mayor Wada. A similar uprising took place in this very same plaza a bit more than a month ago and with similar circumstances. Not much is known about what happened then and what is happening now, but if anyone has any information, please contact us at...

"It's scary, Ne Azunyan?"

The unexpected sound of Yui's voice led Azusa to jump as she looked up from the paper she was reading. She hadn't expected Yui to wait for her to enter the store.

"Y-yes, I-I mean… w-what if I had met the imposter that day in the alley? It's r-really scary," Azusa admitted.

She looked at her senpai in shock as the newspaper was wrenched from her grasp. The airhead merely closed it back up and placed it on the counter. While she did this, Azusa noticed that the girl's eyes were hidden by her bangs and her carefree smile was nowhere to be seen.

"Of course the imposter would never find you, Azunyan... I would never let that happen," Yui seemed to almost hiss.

A small smile appeared on Azusa's face as she tugged at Yui's sleeve to regain her attention.

"I know you wouldn't, Yui-senpai. Let's go join the others," she softly said as she watched the girl's eyes appear from under her bangs.

Yui's eyes had an emotionless look for half a second before they regained their innocent happiness. The look made Azusa freeze up and squeezed her insides.

W-what was that?

"Let's go Azunyan!" Yui squealed as she dragged the pigtailed girl into the store.

That look on Yui-senpai's face...it should never be on her face. Someone as bright as her doesn't deserve such a blank and empty look.

The girl's shopping trip was uneventful, until Yui found a pair of cat ears and tried to get Azusa to wear them.

"W-why do they even have those in a bathing suit store?!" Azusa yelled as she pushed the girl away.

"Azunyan, just for a few seconds, pleaseee…?" Yui whimpered as she wrapped her arms tighter around her.

It's either sacrificing my pride or seeing that blank look in her eyes again...

"F-fine," she whispered as she blushed and looked down.

"But Azunyaa- wait you agree…? Ricchan she agreed!"

Azusa looked up when she heard the drummer's name being mentioned. Her eyes met a pair of devilish amber before the girl plopped something on her head.

"Aw, my Azunyan is so cute!" Yui squealed as she pressed her cheek against hers.

Azusa's face burned a brighter shade of red as she felt Yui's face against hers. She was so flustered by the airhead's closeness that she hadn't realized that Yui had called her my Azunyan.

"See, Azusa, sometimes if you can't beat them, you have to join them," Mio laughed softly as she appeared next to the snickering drummer.

A sudden flash caught Azusa's attention as she looked at Mugi. The blonde was holding up a camera as she also giggled.

"It's to remember this, Azusa-chan. It might not happen again," Mugi mused as she gazed at them lovingly.

Azusa sighed as she relaxed in her senpai's grip. Maybe going on the trip with them wouldn't be as bad as Mio-senpai said.

Maybe, just maybe, I'll find my place among them.

"Ooh, that's so cute!"

Azusa suddenly felt cold as Yui let go off her to look at bathing suits. She watched the girl that seemed to confound everyone with her actions and smiled. Maybe, just maybe, she would also unravel the secret that was Hirasawa Yui along the way.

* * *

**A/N:**

Well, I am really quite sorry this took a long time.

I ended up losing my muse and had to fight to get it back. I had to keep rewriting the Satoshi scene so many times in order to try to get the emotion right. I feel like I did a fairly decent job, but x-x It's really hard to depict something like that. Also, the whole Akira shocker….daaaangggg. Some of you were guessing and some of you were right! O: I wonder what's gonna happen next! Haha only time will tell!

Thanks for the support everyone! I hope you keep reading BAS! The next chapter is being worked on as you read this, heh!

Have a nice one! Reviews and Feedback are appreciated :D! Thanks again!

P.S. Not sure if you guys have noticed but I try to name the chapters after actual songs that help give me a muse. o u o This one is a classical piece called _Imagining_ by Brian Crain.

Anywho, ja, ne imuffinator out! ~


	8. Chapter 7: Light and Fluffy Time

I finally updated this story after all this time! I really apologize. I've had it sitting in my computer for a while, but I'm trying to plan future chaps.

I've always been ahead with this story, but now that I'm catching up I have to get the creative gears cranking. Hopefully the girls aren't too OOC,

but even if they are it's because of the AU that they're in. hope you like this chapter!

It's a bit calmer compared to what is to come, but who doesn't like some light stuff, ne?

Anywho, this old 18 year old woman will stop babbling and let you get on with the story - u -.

Notes: Italics mean thoughts or in some cases, dreams and flashbacks. **Bolding **in italics usually means thoughts (in flashbacks and thoughts).

Disclaimer: I do not own K-ON! it belongs to Kakifly and KyoAni!

* * *

_Chapter 7: Light and Fluffy Time_

_It was white._

_That was it._

_That was all she could see._

_No sun light penetrated through the windows in the walls._

_Yui had tried to look through a window to see what lay beyond them, but all she saw was more white._

_Everything around her was white; there was no other color visible._

_Even when she examined herself, she saw that the plain dress that she wore was white and that her skin had a slightly pallid tone to it. Only her chocolate brown eyes and auburn hair seemed to be the only colors visible in her otherwise monotone surroundings._

_A feeling of dread consumed Yui as she walked through the empty corridor. A feeling that she was alone and would never be with anyone again consumed her._

_That was, until she discovered the door._

_Could it be a way out? …An escape from this never ending hall of white?_

_Hoping to leave the brightness of her surroundings, Yui hastily turned the door knob and peered into the doorway. A quiet gasp escaped her lips at the sight of completely color-filled and vibrant scene._

_In front of her she saw all of her friends sitting down in the club room at the table. Chocolate brown eyes looked around at each member._

_Ritsu was in a headlock given to her by Mio. Perhaps because of a joke she had said?_

_The bassist had a full smile on her face while Ritsu struggled in her arms; their mixed laughter rang throughout the room sending shivers down Yui's spine._

_Mugi was standing by the side table preparing her usual tray of tea and snacks. As soon as she finished, she walked over to join the others. Her long blonde hair covered the person that Yui desperately wanted to see._

_As soon as the blonde reached her spot, Yui felt her heart hitch when she finally caught sight of the raven hair tied up in twin tails._

_**Azunyan…**_

_Feeling an immense sense of longing shoot through her body, she immediately moved toward the table. Yui jumped to wrap her arms around the girl._

_"Azunyan!" She squeaked with happiness._

_She expected to hear a sort of oomph or recognition from the smaller girl, but much to Yui's dismay, she didn't feel anything under her arms and thought that the girl had somehow dodged the hug._

_When she finally looked down, a look of horror replaced her happy one when she saw that her arms had phased through her kohai._

_**W-what? Did my arms just go right through her...?**_

_Yui looked up at the doorway after hearing the door squeak open and nearly dropped to her knees when she saw the newcomer._

_**M-me…? B-but I'm right here!**_

_Brown eyes watched in horror as her look-alike walked over to the table and took the seat next to Azusa. The doppelganger wrapped her arms around Azusa and joined in the laughter of the room._

_"You don't belong here."_

_The sudden voice startled Yui as she looked around the room._

_"W-who are you?" She called out desperately, fear beginning to engulf her._

_"I am you. Perhaps I am the better you, but you nonetheless."_

_"T-The imposter…?"_

_A cold laugh rang throughout the room as a dark hole appeared in the doorway and started to suck everything in. As she felt herself being pulled in, she tried to grasp at anything in order to prevent herself from entering, but it was too late. The darkness engulfed everything in sight as Yui fell. The brunette closed her eyes in fear as a thought popped up in her head._

_**It's dark.**_

**_It's really dark..._**

**_...but was the light any better?_**

_"When the time comes what will you choose?" The voice continued in an indifferent tone._

_The lack of emotion startled Yui as she replied, "What do you mean?"_

_Brown eyes opened and looked down to see a white light approaching. Once her feet hit it, she fell forward and landed on her knees._

_**Where am I now?**_

_As she looked around, she spotted a mirror in front of her._

_"Once you look in beyond the glass, all will be revealed," the voice continued._

_Yui looked up at the mirror and felt her body involuntarily get up._

_**W-wait no, I don't want to see it. What am I doing?!**_

_It felt as if she had lost control of her feet and they wouldn't stop until she reached the glass in front of her. She tried her hardest to prevent herself from looking at the mirror, but eventually the curiosity in her won and caused her to peek._

_Yui's eyes widened in shock and fear at what she saw in the reflection; there she was, in full costume, a cold smirk on her face. Private's eyes were a brilliant shade of violet and lacked emotion. The moment that Yui tried to walk away, her doppelganger reached out and grabbed her arm._

_A scream escaped her throat as she gazed at the amused violet eyes. She didn't want to go, yet it felt like she had to._

_"Don't fight it, after all, we have what you're searching for."_

_Yui shook her head furiously. She knew that she had to keep going, but she didn't want to._

_Especially since what lay beyond the glass was a flock of people wearing black cloaks and white masks._

"Look the train's almost here!"

_Huh?_

Dazed chocolate eyes looked up and saw the giant machine rapidly approaching in the distance. Mugi's voice had snapped Yui out of her reverie.

_Why am I remembering that dream…?_

"Yay Train ride!"

At the sound of Ritsu's enthusiastic voice, Yui closed her eyes slightly. A dull ache jabbed at her temples before she reached her hands up to rub them.

Moments earlier, the five members of the light music club had packed their instruments up in one of the Kotobuki family's vehicles. After Gitah was safely packed away, Yui had looked up at the sky and started to space out. The dream that she had the past few days haunted her thoughts.

"Yay, we're almost ready for the camp!" Yui opened her eyes, plastered a smile on her face, and jumped around as her four friends approached her.

The day of their trip was cloudy and grey. There were rays of sun breaking through gaps in the clouds, but for that moment, everything seemed cool and humid. Yui was wearing a zipped up light pink hoodie and scarlet shorts. Everything was completely normal for her outfit except that she was wearing sunglasses when there was no sun visible in the sky.

"Yui-senpai, why exactly are you wearing sun-gwaasses?" Azusa sleepily yawned as she approached her.

_Hehe, Azunyan's so adorable. _

Yui jumped back and pressed the sunglasses to her face.

"You are much sharper than you look Azunyan! I thought that no one would notice!" She beamed at her kohai.

"Actually Yui, I've been wondering that too. Why ARE you wearing sunglasses?" Mio asked while she stifled a yawn, a sweat drop was visible on the back of her head.  
_  
S-shoot, I didn't expect them all to start questioning me!_

"Uh, you see Mio-chan, when a girl finds a pair of sunglasses that she really likes she doesn't want to take them off! U-uh like when you find that cake with the perfect strawberry on it!" Yui giggled nervously as she backed away from them.

"Yui, it's too early in the morning for arguing, just taaawkee them off. You look silly," Ritsu yawned as she reached out to her.

"Et tu, Ricchan?" Yui pointed at the drummer with a look of shock before Azusa removed the glasses from her face.

"Noooooo~" Yui whined as she covered her eyes with her hands.

_I can't let them see the bags under my eyes or they'll worry.  
_  
The large silver machine lay frozen on its tracks until a sharp hissing noise filled the air to signify that its doors were opening.

"The train's finally arrived! Let's go everyone," Mugi happily laughed after watching everyone's interactions.

_Saved by the train!_

As everyone moved ahead, Yui remained rooted to her spot. She stood patiently until she heard footsteps approach her again. She allowed herself to peek through the gaps in her fingers and watched her vexed kohai approach.

"Yui-senpai, let's go or the train will leave without us," Azusa irritably stated while tugging the elder girl's sleeve.

"No, I need my sunglasses or I won't move!" Yui complained, her hands remaining over her eyes.

"Azusa, just give them to her or she really won't budge," Ritsu half-shouted since she was already embarking the train.

"Ah, fine, here senpai," Azusa said as she handed them back.

"Turn around while I put them on, Azunyan."

"Eh? Why?"

"Um, because….because… No one should watch a girl put on her sunglasses! ...It's, uh, it's improper!"

Azusa looked at her blankly before shaking her head and playing along.

"But I'm a girl too...don't be embarrassed?"

"Nope, I refuse."

"Yui-senpai!"

Sensing her kohai's growing irritation, Yui decided that it was best to give in.

"Hehe, fine. Only because it's my Azunyan," Yui giggled as she quickly snatched the sunglasses and put them on.

"Who said I'm yours?" Azusa irritably grumbled as she reached for Yui's hand.

Yui smiled as she looked up at the sky.

_I have a feeling that today is going to be a fun d-Huh?_

After feeling a sudden warmth on her hand, Yui looked down to see Azusa tugging her along. A slight blush rose in her cheeks as she let the younger girl lead her into the train. Seconds after they entered the silver contraption, the doors closed.

"Woo! That was close! We nearly missed it!" Yui laughed.

"That was your fault…" Azusa sweat dropped as she dragged her along to where the others were sitting.

Ritsu, Mio, and Mugi were sharing a three-seater, leaving Azusa and Yui the other seat across from them.

"Hehe, sorry everyone," Yui rubbed the back of her head as she took her seat next to Azusa.

"So, Yui-chan, do you want to explain why you're wearing sunglasses?" Mugi asked quietly.

_Uh oh, not again!_

"Um, I'm wearing them because...um...Ricchan can tell you!" Yui looked around and panicked before she pointed at the distracted drummer.

"Yeah, I can...wait, ehh? Why would I know?" Ritsu jumped in her seat when she was given the sudden spotlight.

Four pair of eyes began to stare intensely at Yui as they waited for her to speak. The auburn haired girl put her two pointer fingers together as she blushed and looked to the side.

"D-don't worry everyone, it's nothing important," Yui quietly replied.

Once again, Azusa removed the sunglasses from her face. The sudden transition of tinted vision to bright caused Yui to turn around and face the seat she was in.

"Ah, the light, it burns usss," She cried out after covering her eyes.

"Yui-senpai...why are there purple bruises under your eyes?" Azusa asked calmly, her voice full of worry.

At her words, Yui tensed up.

_Oh no, they saw!_

"Purple bruises... Ritsu is involved...Ritsu, you gave Yui two black eyes?" Mio gasped as she put two and two together before glaring at the tawny-haired girl next to her.

"Yeah of course! ...W-wait what? N-no! I would never-Ack!" Ritsu gasped in pain as Mio's fist collided with her head.

Yui watched in horror as Ritsu tried to console an angry Mio while Mugi looked at her worriedly.

_If I don't stop this, it's going to get out of hand…I might as well tell them._

"No everyone you're misunderstanding! I was just… struggling to sleep last night...Then I had to get up extra early to drop Ui off at Jun-chan's house. I didn't want her to go alone and I've just worried the past few days..." Yui sheepishly whispered as she looked at her lap before continuing, "That and...I sort of forgot to pack, so I barely got any sleep!"

The four girls around her stared at her for a few seconds before they each started giggling.

"You could have just said that in the first place, Yui-chan. You really had us worried," Mugi softly laughed.

Her blue eyes showed her slight amusement, but Yui knew that the blonde was still worried.

"Geez, you owe me, Private! I was abused by the dangerous queen for no re-ack" Ritsu started, but was cut off by another hit to the head. "Itai! Mio it hurts!"

Yui smiled weakly at them all.

It wasn't as if she had lied to them, she had basically told them the truth, but kept a few things to herself.

Setting her gaze on the window, she glanced at the moving landscape. The clouds were starting to dissipate and more of the sun's rays started to illuminate the greenery in the distance.

_The others don't need to know that Ricchan and me were out late patrolling last night. And they really can't know that I've been having trouble sleeping ever since we encountered the imposter._

Well, thinking about it…they can't know about the encounter either …or about that nightmare.

What is that even about?

Yui focused her chocolate brown eyes on a specific cloud formation as she recalled something from a few days earlier.

_"… I have come here today to tell you stay out of The Revolution's path. We have much in store for this city, but your interferences will get you in trouble…"_

Upon remembering the half-threat left by the imposter, Yui felt her surroundings suddenly seem colder.

_ N-no, nothing's going to happen to me. I'll be fine…I mean there's no way the imposter would even know that we're leaving town._

The brunette shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts. Sensing that the others were still observing her, Yui decided to try to distract them.

"I'm going to sleeeweep, everyone! Good night!" Yui yawned and grinned before closing her eyes.

"Haha, you mean good morning, Yui-chan," Mugi gently laughed.

"Morning, Yui. Sleep well, you better be ready for our adventure later!" Ritsu loudly whispered.

"Ritsu, quiet, morning, Yui, sleep well," Mio whispered quietly.

"Morning, Yui-senpai, feel better."

Azusa's voice came as a low whisper from Yui's left. The warmth in the girl's voice sent a shiver through the airhead's spine and made her stomach tingle as a goofy smile crept onto her face.

_This weird feeling I have in my stomach…I wonder what it could be._

**~K-ON!~**

"Damn, this is better than last time."

Azusa stared at the giant villa in front of her with awe as Ritsu spoke.

"Ooh, Mugi-chan, is this the one that you couldn't borrow last year?" Yui asked as she pounced on the blonde heiress.

Azusa smiled at the sight of the brunette's sudden burst of energy.

_Well it seems that Yui-senpai is feeling better.  
_  
"Sorry, that one was being used again this year," Mugi smiled as she was hugged.

"Well, now that we're here let's go play," Ritsu grinned as she put her hands on her hips. Much to Azusa's amazement, the girl was already clad in her bathing suit.

_Wait...but a few seconds ago wasn't she dressed normally?_

"Hai Captain, let's go!" Yui appeared next to her also wearing her bathing suit.  
_  
W-when did they have the time to even…what?_

"No guys, remember what happened last year? Play second, practice first," Mio folded her arms and chastised the two.

"Nyee, Mio-chuan is no fun~" Ritsu grumbled as she folded her arms.

Azusa looked at Mio with awe; the girl was somehow able to tame the two most unpredictable girls in the group without even trying. However, in the bassist's eyes, Azusa could see that she was pondering something.

"Fine, to be fair let's vote. I for one would like to practice," Mio sighed as she looked over at Azusa.

"I'd like to practice also," the pigtailed guitarist smiled.

"Let's play!" Yui and Ritsu bellowed as they placed their arms around each other's shoulders.

"I also want to play!" Mugi smiled as she held up her hand to signify her vote.

Both the bassist and rhythm guitarist glanced at her in shock at the unexpected betrayal.

_Looks like there's no escaping it…_

Azusa sighed when she felt a hand tug at hers.

"Come on, Azunyan, let's go!" Yui laughed as she pulled her toward the villa to change.

As soon as they entered the house, Azusa had to push Yui away in order to make sure that the girl was not there when she changed.

"Ehhh, why can't I be in there Azunyan?"

Azusa checked the lock on the door to make sure that it worked before walking over to her bed.

_S-she definitely knows… why can't she just go away?_

As she picked up her swimsuit, she replied, "Well, remember the thing with the sunglasses?"

"Yeah, what about them?"

Yui's voice was muffled by the door, but it was still audible enough for Azusa to hear the teasing tone.

"Well, watching me change is even more improper!"

"Buuut, Azunyaaaannn~"

"No buts! I'll be out in a few."

"Mou, I'll go then."

Azusa quickly removed her clothes and slipped herself into her pink one piece. It was a rather childish looking suit, but it suited her just fine.

"Okay, I'm done," Azusa said as she opened the door.

To her surprise there was no brunette waiting for her on the other hand. For some reason that made her feel…

_Upset? Why would it bother me that Yui-senpai decided to leave me alone like I asked?  
_  
The raven-haired girl shook her head as she applied sunscreen onto her skin before making her way out of the villa. The beach was not too far and she could see the umbrella that the girls had set up in the distance.

_If I just hide in the shade, I shouldn't burn too much._

"Ah, Azusa, you finally made it," Mio smiled when Azusa took a seat next to her.

"Yeah, Yui-senpai was bothering me before," Azusa grumbled as she wrapped her arms around her folded legs.

_Speaking of the devil, where is she?_

Garnet eyes searched the water for the brunette. When she didn't see her in the water, she glanced away from the beach.

A flash of green caught her eyes as she moved her gaze away from the water. In the distance, she could just see Yui and Ritsu standing by a giant boulder. From what she saw, it seemed that the two were having a serious conversation. Yui was leaning against the boulder, her pink bathing suit contrasting with the color of her skin. Ritsu was pacing around slightly in front of her, the girl's neon green bathing suit matching the goggles on her head.

"I wonder what those two are talking about," Mio softly said. Azusa noticed that the bassist's grey eyes were also intently focused on the duo by the rock.

When Azusa turned to look at them again, she saw that Mugi had joined them in the conversation. Whatever she said seemed to have made Ritsu laugh and stop pacing because the drummer suddenly grabbed onto Yui's arm and pulled her into the water.

The pig-tailed guitarist couldn't help but watch the two girls in the water as they splashed away at each other. She was so immersed in observing Ritsu as she pushed Yui down under that she didn't hear Mugi sitting down next to her.

"Well, it seems that those two are enjoying the trip again," Mugi laughed softly.

Azusa smiled at the blonde before glancing over at the bassist.

"Yeah, but I hope they save energy to practice," Mio grumbled as she continued observing the two.

"Knowing those two, they're going to use it all up again," Mugi continued softly laughing.

"Azunyannn!"

"What, senpai?" Azusa shouted back.

"Play with us!"

The closeness of Yui's voice startled Azusa as she looked up and found herself glancing at Yui's quickly approaching figure. Before she knew what was happening, the brunette quickly took hold of her hand and tried to pull her up.

_H-how did she get over here so quickly?_

"I-I'm fine, just keep playing without me," Azusa said as absolute as she could before removing Yui's hand from hers.

She then frowned, the spot where Yui's hand had previously been felt a lot warmer than before.

"Ah, it's okay then. Come on, Yui. Azusa's too bad at sports to play with us," Ritsu smirked mischievously as she clung to the beach ball in her hand.

"W-what are you talking about? I'll show you that I can!" Azusa half-yelled while she stepped out of the shade and into the sunlight.

Ritsu's amber eyes shimmered with amusement as she ran toward the water. "Haha, come on then, Nakano! Show me what you got!"

_I know that I'm going to regret this, but might as well enjoy myself while I can… I'll do my best to prove her wrong!_

"Hehe, I really can't believe that we got Azunyan to play with us."

Yui laughed merrily as she glancing at the girl lying on the marble floor. Instead of the milky white that Azusa's had been before, her skin had taken on a dark tan. Chocolate brown eyes observed the sleeping girl as she took slow, even breaths. Shortly after they had decided that they would practice, Azusa had started falling asleep.

"Well, looks like Azusa ended up having the most fun," Ritsu laughed as she glanced at the sleeping girl.

"I don't think it's very good for her to be sleeping on the floor, we should move her," Mio pointed out as the girl turned in her sleep.

Yui walked over to Azusa's stirring figure and reached over to pick her up. The moment that her skin brushed the girl's, Yui shivered slightly and Azusa's garnet eyes flew open.

"W-what are you doing?" She asked; her voice still groggy from the nap.

"We were going to move you, it's not good for you to be sleeping on the floor, Azunyan," Yui giggled as the girl sat up and looked around.

_Azunyan is so cute. She's like a kitty that just woke up from its nap…hehe, that's because she is a kitty._

"N-no, let's practice! I'll get my guitar," Azusa smiled when she saw everyone by their instruments.

_Well, looks like Azunyan is never too tired to practice. At least her mind is off the subject of the worries of our town. Mugi-chan was right when she told us that this camp would serve as a great distraction._

Yui recalled their conversation by the rock at the beach and smiled.  
_  
Today at midnight, ne? Well, I need to work on my fighting techniques anyway._

The brunette walked over to Gitah and picked him up. As she slid the strap over her shoulder, she saw Azusa with a strange apparatus in her hands.

"Azunyan, what's that?"

"Hm? This is a tuner," the girl said in a matter of fact tone.

"What's a tuner?" Yui asked innocently.

"You don't know what a tuner is? Then how do you tune your guitar?"

Azusa's garnet eyes held slight disappointment as she watched her.

_Eh? So what I do isn't normal?_

"W-well, over the year that I've been playing guitar, all I've had to do is this," Yui nervously said as she turned the tuner on Gitah. She listened to the pitch until it sounded right to her before continuing,

"See?"

The look of shock on Azusa's face startled her as the girl examined the machine in her hands.

"So you've been playing guitar for a year and have perfect pitch…S-Senpai you're…" Azusa trailed off as she slightly shook.

"Eh?" Yui smiled innocently as she watched the girl shake her head and return her attention to her guitar.

"Well, everyone let's play a song!" Mio smiled when she saw that everyone was ready.

A loud rumble cut through the silence of the room as everyone turned to watch Ritsu collapse onto the ground.

"M-Mio-chuan, I'm hungry," Ritsu whined in a voice that was higher than her normal pitch.

"Just deal with it," Mio nearly growled causing the drummer to sit up and walk over to the drums.

"Ooh, these are new! Let's play um… Fuwa Fuwa time everybody!" Ritsu smiled as she jumped onto the stool behind the drums. She clicked her drumsticks together to count everyone off. "One, two, one two three four!"

The beginning chords of the song filled the room with energy as Mio sang into the microphone.

_**"When I look at you my heart always goes thump-thump  
this shaking feeling is fluffy-fluffy like a marshmallow  
you're always so persistent, you don't even notice me**_**"**

When Yui joined in with Mio at the chorus, she couldn't help but let her eyes wander to the shorter guitarist. Seeing the smile on the younger girl's tanned face as they played made something in her want to put a harder effort into the song in order to keep that smile there.

_**"Always staring at your profile  
when we're in my dreams,  
the distance between us can be shortened"**_**  
**  
Looking around at the other members of the room, Yui couldn't help but giggle when she saw that Ritsu seemed to be keeping everyone's pace instead of rushing.

_That could be because Ricchan is tired though.  
_  
Yui smiled as she continued strumming and playing through the chords.

_**Oh, God, please  
Give some Dream Time for just the two of us!  
Cuddling my favorite bunny doll, Goodnight again, tonight**_

Mugi's blonde hair slightly bounced as she swiftly pressed the keys on her Korg keyboard.

_It seems that the energy has reached Mugi-chan._

When she glanced at the bassist, Yui beamed when she saw that the taller girl had a smile on her face. Yui faced Azusa again when she spoke into the mic. Their eyes briefly meeting as she sang.

**_Again today, your unexpected behavior makes my heart go pound-pound_**  
**_Reading too much into your casual smile, I overheat!_**

_**The serious face of yours I saw one day**_  
_**Appears even when I close my eyes**_  
_**even in my dreams is fine;**_  
_**I want some Sweet Time for just the two of us!**_

After watching a dark red blush grow on Azusa's face, Yui fought back the urge to run over and hug her.

_I have such a strong urge to hug Azunyan right now...Ah, wait I shouldn't be thinking right now!_

Yui looked away from Azusa's face in order keep from staring more. The brunette worked to keep up in the song as she simultaneously continued to think.

_Why exactly is it that just seeing Azunyan makes me feel happy all the time? I mean…sure her eyes are pretty and she has a cute face but—W-wait, no, focus!_

_**If I could muster just a little courage  
and speak to him naturally  
I wonder if anything would change.  
I think it would, but...**_

Chocolate brown eyes stared blankly at the wall in front of her when the words that Mio sang registered in her head.

_This seems so familiar. Why does this fit my… situation?_

_**But that's the hardest part of all!  
'Cause how would I have an excuse to talk to him?  
And then, I'd have to think of something to talk about, and that wouldn't be natural at all!**_

Mio's flustered speaking as she sang out the next part registered strange feelings in the guitarist. Yui's distraction became apparent as she missed a chord.

_Ack, I can't let this get to me._

From the corner of her eye, she knew that the person who was the cause of her distraction noticed her mistake, but tried to ignore it.

_Just keep pushing on._

_**Oh, God, please  
Give me some Miracle Time, just this once!  
And afterwards, if I can talk with him no problem... we'll see where it goes.**_

_**Fluffy time (Fluffy time)**_

With the final chord being strummed and Ritsu's final downbeat, Yui felt her knees give in as she watched Ritsu simultaneously slump over her drums.

"Whoa! That felt amazing and…complete!" Mugi smiled as she stepped away from her keyboard and walked toward the collapsed guitarist.

"That did feel amazing didn't it?" Azusa nearly squealed as followed Mugi.

"Ritsu you sounded on time for once, are you okay?" Mio's distant voice could be heard as Yui stared blankly down at the ground. Her brown eyes were widened in shock as she held Gitah close.

_There's no way. I mean…the lyrics don't mean anything to me! Mio-chan wrote them…yet at the same time they make me think of Azu-what? N-no…_

"Yui-chan, are you okay?" Mugi's concerned voice asked softly.

"Senpai, is everything alright?"

At the sound of Azusa's voice, Yui felt her insides freeze and her cheeks flush. "Hehe, I'm just a bit tired," the brunette giggled while rubbing the back of her head.

"Well, you did overexert yourself at the beach, senpai. Maybe you should go to sleep," Azusa smiled kindly when her eyes met Yui's.

_N-no, it can't be…but then how do I describe what I'm feeling?_

From the corner of her eyes, Yui saw Ritsu observing her. The girl's tired looking amber eyes had a knowing look in them.

"N-no I'm fine, hehe. I'm just going to go take a walk!" The airhead laughed nervously as she quickly stood up.

As she walked away, Yui tried her hardest to not shake in front of the others.

_I'm already confused; I might as well not confuse them too._

"Senpai, are you going to take your guitar with you?"

Azusa's question alerted Yui to the fact that her Gibson was still in her hands. Chocolate eyes widened in shock as she realized her mistake. Slowly turning around to face the others, Yui plastered a weak smile on her face.

"Hehe, oops I guess Gitah wanted to spend quality time with me… so I'll just take him along!" Yui's voice sounded too high with the false enthusiasm that she sheepishly rubbed the back of her head while she continued backing up toward the doorway.

The second that she was out in the hallway, the brunette turned and ran toward the exit. Her heart pounding loudly in her ears as she tried to catch her breath. The cool air hit Yui the moment she left the villa. She didn't even notice that she was shaking violently until a badly cut string on one of the tuning pegs of her guitar scratched her cheek.

Feeling the sharp sting as something warm trickled down her cheek, Yui noticed that the pointed end of the string had a red stain on it. She hastily pressed her hand on her cheek for a few seconds. She was not surprised to see the scarlet liquid on her palm as she withdrew her hand.

"Yui-chan, where are you?"

Brown eyes looked up quickly as Mugi's voice approached from behind her.

_N-no, I can't let her find me like this… with me bleeding AND my shaking she'll know that something's off.  
_  
Without giving it a second thought, Yui wiped the blood on her palm on a nearby boulder and sprinted in the forest behind the villa. Realizing that it was a foolish idea since she did not have a flashlight, Yui sighed and leaned against a tree. She slumped down onto the ground and tried to ignore the fact that her cheek still stinging.

"Yui, Where are you?" Ritsu's loud voice cut through the silence of the forest.

"Y-Yui, p-please come out so we can g-get out of here!" Mio's shout was shaky.

_So Mio-chan and Ricchan are also looking for me… why am I doing this? It's not like I have an actual reason._

A rustle in the bush behind Yui, startled her as she pressed herself against the tree trunk. The auburn haired girl could see something red gleam in the dark.

_W-what is that?_

"Uwahhh," A low moan came from the bush and then a loud rumble.

Yui's brown eyes were wide in fear as the bush rustled violently. She watched in horror as a hand shot out of the bush and grabbed onto her arm. A bloodcurdling shriek escaped Yui's mouth as the hand pulled her toward the bush.

_N-No, this can't be the end! I-I don't want it to end like this!_

Another hand covered her mouth as a voice harshly whispered in her ear, "I finally found you!"

Realization hit Yui's eyes at the familiar voice.

_I-it can't be._

**~K-ON!~**

"AIEEEEEEE!"

"W-what was that?" Mio cried out before running over to Ritsu.

Azusa watched the bassist cling tightly to Ritsu's arm after a sudden shriek pierced the silence of the forest.

The four of them had followed Yui after she abruptly ran out of the villa because she was acting strange and they feared she would hurt herself.

"I-it sounded like Yui-senpai," the pigtailed girl shakily replied.

Azusa shone her flashlight around toward the area where it sounded that the shriek originated from. The four girls looked at each other before nodding and going toward the area illuminated by the light.

During the day, the forest added a pleasant scene to the already beautiful view, but at night it was spooky and seemed to have its share of secrets. Keeping her gaze ahead, Azusa used her peripheral vision to watch for any movements.

_I really hope that Yui-senpai's okay…she's been acting strange all day. Even during that song, she missed a few chords... She never does that unless she's out of energy or distracted…_

Recalling that the guitarist had glanced at her a bit before her demeanor changed, Azusa furrowed her eyebrows.

_She was looking at me… could I have done something wrong?_

"Hey, Azusa can you shine the light over here real quickly? Something seems shiny," Ritsu asked as she examined a large boulder.

After shining the light, Azusa tensed up at the sight of the stain on the rock. The scarlet handprint glistened under the flashlight's light.

"Oh my, what does this mean?" Mugi asked as she walked up to examine the print, her eyebrows scrunched up in worry.

"It means that we find Yui fast…Mio, let go of me," Ritsu said, her eyes hardening slightly as she placed her hand on the bassist's arm.

"R-Ritsu, w-what are you going to-" Mio started to ask, but the drummer took her arm out of the girl's grasp and ran toward where they had heard the shriek.

"R-Ritsu-senpai, wait a minute!" Azusa yelled as she ran after the tawny-haired girl.

"There's no time, Azusa! We have to hurry!" Ritsu nearly growled as she continued sprinting, the light from her flashlight bouncing around as she pointed it at different areas. The drummer stopped in a clearing before yelling, "YUI, GET THE HELL OUT OF WHEREVER YOU'RE HIDING. THIS ISN'T FUNNY!"

Following the girl's lead, Azusa called out, "Y-Yui-senpai, where are you? We're all worried, please come out!"

The stillness of the forest after their shouting raised the hairs on the back of Azusa's neck. If something had happened to the brunette, she wouldn't know what she would do.

_I-I wish Captain and Private were here! I m-mean….they would find her in no time!  
_  
"Yui-chan, please come on out! I know that you're injured, please let us tend to it," Mugi pleaded as he appeared behind Azusa with Mio clinging to her arm.

_Still no noises…this is getting spooky._

"Do you think she's okay?" Azusa asked shakily. Her voice felt strangled and her insides squeezed uncomfortably.

"Knowing her, she probably wandered off somewhere and got lost; However, that doesn't answer the question as to why she isn't replying," Mugi softly spoke. After taking a good look around, she continued, "Whether this is a joke planned by Ricchan and Yui-chan, I do not know, but something was off with Yui-chan during the performance anyway so I would rule that out."

"Y-yeah, I noticed that too, Mugi," Mio spoke up after looking around until she spotted the drummer. Ritsu was kneeling down in the grass and seemed to be examining something.

"Ritsu-senpai, what's wrong?" Azusa asked quietly as she walked over to the girl. She gasped when she saw the crimson prints leading toward a bush, it was very faint, but the drops were unmistakable.

"Azusa, don't move muscle," Ritsu whispered as she stared intensely into the bush before continuing, "I could have sworn that I saw something move in there."

The drummer stood up and made her way to a tree next to the bush. The area surrounding them seemed too quiet to be ignored. Azusa observed as Ritsu readied herself to jump into the bush when it began to rustle.

"No, Ricchan, don't-"A voice called out from the bush before the girl jumped in.

_Wait a minute that voice…  
_  
A loud thump, a sharp hiss of pain, and a pained squeak escaped from the bush. Moving closer to look behind it, Azusa carefully shined her light over.

"W-what? S-Sawako-sensei? What are you doing here?"

Mio and Mugi's footsteps were loud behind her as the two girls approached. The scene in front of Azusa caused her to sweat drop. Ritsu was lying on top of Sawako's back and it seemed that the club advisor was on top of…

_Yui-senpai?_

The raven-haired girl sighed in relief when she saw that the missing airhead was safe.

_That's really good... I was getting real- I mean we were ALL getting real worried. I-it wasn't just me!_

"Ricchan, get off of me!" Sawako hissed as she started to climb off of Yui.

"Eh, Sawa-chan why are you here?" Ritsu asked as she got off of the teacher's back.

"Well, I wanted to surprise you all, but then I got lost! Then Yui-chan showed up and well…let's just say that it would have looked bad if you found us moments earlier," Sawako sheepishly smiled.

"It looked bad even when we found you just now!" Ritsu scolded the teacher who jumped back in shock.

"Wait, Sawako-sensei, if you're fine, then whose blood was it that we found on the way here?" Mugi asked softly as she pet Mio's head. The bassist was covering her ears and trembling uncontrollably.

A quiet whimper caught Azusa's attention and caused her to look down. There was Yui, hugging Gitah tightly to her chest, her face covered by her arm.

_Did something happen to her guitar?_

The pigtailed guitarist kneeled down next to Yui and examined Gitah. It seemed to be perfectly fine except for some dirt on its body.

"Yui-senpai, what's wro-," Azusa began to ask, but felt her heart squeeze when she caught sight of Yui's tear filled eyes.

"Sawa-chan, what did you do to Yui that made her cry?" Ritsu questioned the nervous teacher.

"I didn't do anything! I found her like this! I just didn't want her to start screaming from being scared so I covered her mouth!" Sawako yelled in her defense.

Azusa sweat-dropped at the statement and couldn't help but sigh.

_This could have been prevented if you came to see us like a normal person._

Azusa took hold off Yui's arm before gently pulling it away from her face. There was a stream of blood originating from a cut on her cheek. After helping the older girl sit up, the garnet eyed girl smiled reassuringly before pulling a handkerchief out of her pocket. Under the intense gaze of the airhead's brown eyes, Azusa wiped away the blood and pressed the handkerchief to Yui's cheek in order to prevent further bleeding.

"Mio-senpai, we need to clean this cut. We can't don't want it to get infected," the younger girl whispered softly as she stared back into Yui's eyes.

The bassist shook her head a few times before regaining her senses and she rushing over to the two. As Mio, replaced Azusa's bloody handkerchief with her own, Yui sniffled slightly before giving them a smile that warmed Azusa's heart.

"S-sorry for troubling everyone…I guess it was Gitah's punishment for worrying you all,that I got hurt," Yui giggled before looking at Azusa and continuing, "Thanks Azunyan…Now to restore my energy!~"

A strong pair of arms wrapped themselves around Azusa as the girl pressed her uninjured cheek against her own.

"Y-Yui-senpai, g-get off! I don't want your blood on me," Azusa griped as she pushed against the girl's grip. Yui seemed to slightly tense up at Azusa's words, her arms slightly tightening around her momentarily before relaxing again.

"Hehe… that's right I wouldn't want Azunyan being mad at me for covering her with my blood, ne?" Yui asked innocently before letting go completely and standing up.

"Well, now that the commotion has been settled, let's all go back! I bet Sawako-sensei has interesting stories to tell about her adventure," Mugi laughed softly.

The group of girls slowly regained their relaxed composure and began to head back. Azusa watched Yui as the brunette stared into the forest for a bit.

"Yui-senpai, is everything okay?" Azusa asked hesitantly as to not break the girl's concentration.

"Hm? Oh, nothing I just thought that I saw somethi-," Yui started, but when she realized who she was speaking to, she cut herself off before smiling at Azusa. The guitarist quickly took her hand in hers before continuing," Let's go Azunyan! I bet Mugi-chan has tons of sweets waiting for us back there!"

The pigtailed girl couldn't help but smile as Yui babbled happily. Since she was feeling so happy, she had forgotten that the older girl was holding her hand.

_It's such a relief that Yui-senpai is better. Seeing her like this…it's much better than seeing her so lost..._

**~K-ON!~**

An auburn-haired girl stood outside of the villa on a balcony. The cool breeze and salty smell of the beach surrounded her as she stood and thought.

It's almost time to go see Mugi-chan.

Yui heard the glass door behind her slide open and footsteps approach from behind.

"Everything okay, Yui?"

Ritsu's amber eyes examined her carefully before looking at the view in front of her. Yui's chocolate brown eyes remained focused on the beach as the waves slowly climbed up and down the sand. It had become so dark that the sky and the ocean seemed to have fused into one so it looked never ending.

"Yeah, Ricchan, I've just been thinking," Yui whispered softly.

"Bout what? You seemed off earlier too."

The guitarist reached up to her cheek and felt the rough texture of the bandage on her cheek. The cut hadn't been too deep, but it was enough that it would take a bit to heal.

"Ricchan…have you ever been in love before?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Yui watched Ritsu slightly tense up before responding.

"Err, no of course not. L-love isn't needed...especially when your l-loved ones are in danger, hehe…"

Yui closed her eyes at the response before slightly frowning.

"I see…" She whispered quietly before placing her arms on the balcony and then resting her head on them.

"Why, are you in love with someone?"

Yui could feel Ritsu's eyes boring into her head as the girl stared at her.

"I wouldn't say love…" the airhead whispered sheepishly.

_But if someone makes your heart race…does it mean that it's love? Or is just something weird with your heart...?_

"Ah, so you like someone…who? It's not Mio is it?" Ritsu whispered, before hastily adding, "Y-Y'know cause she's a dangerous queen that's only gonna b-break your heart!"

"I don't think that I'm the one that likes Mio-chan, Ricchan," Yui gave her a knowing smile before returning her attention to the beach.

"Then who is it…? Mugi?" Ritsu continued asking, her amber eyes intently watching the water glisten under the moon's light.

"No, not Mugi-chan either…" Yui whispered before burying her head in her arms.

A silence remained between the two girls before Ritsu slightly laughed.

"Heh, so it's who I think it is, huh?" Ritsu slightly grinned before playfully shoving Yui.

_So she does know…_

Yui gave her a weak smile before placing her chin on her arms.

"Yes, Ricchan…Sawa-chan is truly amazing, ne?" Yui teased.

"Heh, I guess, but she's so- wait what?" Ritsu looked at her with her mouth ajar.

The two girls stared at each other quietly for a few seconds before Yui burst into laughter. After catching on to the joke, Ritsu immediately grabbed her and put her into a choke hold.

"T-that's not funny, Private!" Ritsu laughed. When she let go of Yui, she smiled knowingly before moving on, "Heh, seriously though, it's Azusa, isn't it?"

Yui's laugh faltered as she sheepishly smiled. "Y-yeah, you've got me."

Chocolate brown eyes looked up at the moon before she decided to continue.

"It's been happening for a while now, Ricchan. I think that today… finally cleared it up and it's probably the biggest problem I'm going to have…"

"Cleared what up?" Ritsu asked, her amber eyes showed her confusion.

Yui looked seriously into Ritsu's eyes before replying.

"Ricchan, I think I'm falling in love with Azunyan."

Ritsu looked at her quizzically before asking, "What's the problem, then?"

Yui sighed and glanced down at the ground.

"That IS the problem."

* * *

Oooh, and thus we end yet another chapter! This one is long compared to the last two, but I honestly hope you guys liked it!

With a bit more than 2 weeks up until AP Exams, I'm going to put all my stuff on hiatus. I really need to focus on school.

So with this update, I saw adieu for a bit!

Also, there were a lot of references to Season 1 Episode 10 in this chap o u o

What did you guys think? WHat do you think will happen next? Only time will tell!

Reviews and criticisms are appreciated. Especially since I still have no beta...I'm just going to keep going like this :U

Thanks for the support!

Have a nice one! ^_^

~imuffinator out


	9. Chapter 8 Waiting on the World to Change

A/N: I really apologize for the super long break! I just had some major writer's block and stuff to deal with.

I just graduated high school so thatdidn't really help in the creative process.

Public speaking isn't necessarily my thing and I had to make a speech at Graduation xD.

Well, I will stop babbling and let you read what you really came here for.

Once again, I apologize for the wait and I hope you enjoy the next chapter

of BAS.

Disclaimer: I do not own K-ON! it belongs to Kakifly and KyoAni.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Waiting on the World to Change**

"S-stop laughing Ricchan!"

Yui shook the drummer's shoulders after seeing that the girl refused to cease her laughter.

It was now a bit after midnight and the two were waiting outside the villa's garage because the blonde heiress had told them that she had to prepare something before they started the night's event.

From the moment that Yui had revealed to Ritsu that she possibly had romantic feelings for their rhythm guitarist, the drummer had been laughing non-stop.

"I still can't believe it though! Imagine it, you and shorty!" Ritsu snickered as she tried to catch her breath.

"I-I told you that I'm not sure! I said 'I think'! Ricchan stop!" Yui whined before pulling at the tawny-haired girl's arm and shaking her.

The tawny-haired girl kept laughing as Yui's efforts to make her stop failed.

"What's so funny, Ricchan? You've been laughing for a while now."

Yui and Ritsu froze up at the sound of Mugi's voice. Ritsu shook Yui off of her and grinned at the blonde.

"Guess what Mugi? Yui thinks that she's in love with- mhrphm" Ritsu began to speak, but Yui hastily covered her mouth to keep her from saying more.

"Ricchan, stop it!" Yui hissed at the drummer, her cheeks were a furious shade of red.

"Ah, so you finally realized that you like Azusa-chan?" Mugi smiled knowingly at her, the blonde's baby blue eyes twinkled with admiration.

Yui immediately let go of the drummer and jumped back. The blush on her face deepened even more while she looked to the side and put her index fingers together.

"Um, if you can even call it that sure...it's more of an appreciation though," Yui sheepishly whispered while refusing to meet the drummer's eyes.

"Heh, appreciation 'cause she's letting you like her!" Ritsu snickered.

Yui sweatdropped as she slumped over slightly.

_I knew that I shouldn't have told Ricchan..._

"Well, I'm sorry to interrupt the discovery of Yui-chan's crush, but we do have work to do," Mugi laughed softly as she walked toward the garage door.

"Oh, right! Woo, adventure!" Ritsu jumped into the air as she ran into the building after Mugi.

Yui watched the two quietly for a bit before walking in. She looked around before glancing up at the villa. Her brown eyes found the room that belonged to Azusa and she noted that the lights were off.

_That means Azunyan is asleep...well, that's good._

A soft smile made its way onto her face as she followed Ritsu and Mugi into the garage.

"Okay, now that Yui-chan's in here, please do not panic and stay still," Mugi spoke calmly as she walked over to a bookshelf.

After pulling on a single book, the wall next to it opened up a compartment with what seemed to be a keypad on it. The blonde walked up to it and pressed a few buttons. Yui watched in awe as a red light popped out of the contraption and scanned Mugi's eye.

**Identification Complete: Kotobuki Tsumugi. Access Granted.  
**  
At that instant, the whole room began to violently shake. Yui fell back onto the floor and covered her head with her arms.

"What the hell, Mugi? What's happening?" Ritsu exclaimed as she too ducked onto the ground.

"Is this an earthquake?" Yui whimpered as she shut her eyes in fear.

After a few seconds of shaking, Yui heard the floor hit something that sounded metallically solid.

"Whoa, Mugi...this is awesome!"

At the sound of Ritsu's amazed voice, Yui opened one eye. Her brown eyes darted open when she saw that they were in what seemed to be an underground cavern. It was spacious and full of different areas that had training facilities. The auburn-haired walked up toward the tool area and picked up what seemed to be a small circular sphere. She tossed it to the ground and was amused to see that smoke suddenly engulfed the space that she was in.

"Whoa, Mugi, this is …I can't even begin to imagine how long it took to make this!" Ritsu exclaimed from the other side of the cavern.

"It was a bit rough to manage when we had less than two weeks to work with, but father was willing to comply when he heard that it was for you two," Mugi softly remarked.

Yui stepped out of the dissipating smoke and ran over to jump the blond; however as soon as she neared her, something shiny caught her eye.

"M-Mugi-chan, are t-those what I think they are?" The guitarist beamed at the blonde as she heard Ritsu gasp when she saw what she had seen.

"Hehe, yes, those are your own transport vehicles. I know that the legal driving age is 18, so I couldn't help you two with an actual car, but you two CAN get motorcycle licenses at 16, which is coming up pretty soon," Mugi smiled softly at the two.

Yui froze up and felt tears well up in her eyes. Mugi had been the one that had made all of this possible…without her, they would be nothing.

"M-Mugi-chan, you're too kind for us. I don't think that I can accept this," Yui sniffled as she tightly wrapped her arms around the blonde.

_She's already helped us so much…Mugi-chan, I can't possibly ask for more cakes..._ Yui thought to herself for a few seconds before rubbing her head

_...in the near future._

"Yeah, I agree with Yui. Mugi, you've done way too much for us lately and we haven't really done anything in return…I'd feel bad if we accepted them," Ritsu weakly smiled at Mugi before glancing back at the motorcycles.

The two seemed to be specifically modified for each hero. While the one that was meant for Yui was a black thin and rather long one with a dark red trim around its frame, Ritsu's had a gold trim and looked like a regular motorcycle. On top of each bike rested a helmet that corresponded with each potential driver.

"Well, to be honest, you two. They're more of a reward from my father. He's grateful for what the two of you have done and he's glad that you've drawn unnecessary attention away from him after what Mayor Wada did earlier on," Mugi stated softly. She looked at the two of them before a smile worked its way onto her face.

Yui felt her jaw drop at this revelation. It took her a few seconds to register what the blonde had said.

_W-wait, Kotobuki-san...M-Mugi-chan's...DAD?!  
_  
"Ehhhhh? So what you're telling me is that Kotobuki-san…the HEAD of Kotobuki Enterprises…knows that we're the town heroes...AND he wants to reward us with something that we can't even legally ride yet?" Ritsu asked as her jaw also dropped in disbelief.

Yui watched in utter shock as Mugi nodded as a response.

"Awesome," Ritsu murmured.

Chocolate brown eyes moved back over to examine the bike that was supposed to be hers.

_A motorcycle…do I even know how to use one? I bet I'd look cool riding it though…maybe then Azunyan would think I'm "cool"!  
_  
An image of Yui dressed up as Private riding through town with the motorcycle ran through her mind.

She could imagine her telling Azusa to "hop on, baby" and the young girl swooning at the action.

Just as her thoughts pleasantly added the scene of the two riding off together into the sunset, Ritsu's voice bluntly cut them off.

"M-Mugi…I'm gonna say it again, you are amazing! Oh Kami, I, damn, I swear we'll pay this back to you one day! Right, Yui?"

Yui looked up at the others and nodded. She giggled when she saw that Mugi's face was a bright shade of red as Ritsu tugged at her hand in excitement.

"Captain, as repayment to Kotobuki ojou-sama, we should train our hardest today!" Yui grinned and brought her right hand up to her head.

"Oi, you're right! Let's get to work...we should get changed first though!" Ritsu jumped away from the blonde and then ran toward her duffel bag.

Yui dropped her own duffel bag onto the ground and unzipped it. She looked at its contents for a few seconds before smiling a little.

_Being Private has really changed things, ne? I mean…Ricchan can smile again and the city seems to be a bit safer…I wonder what the imposter's doing right now…no, actually, I'd rather not find out._

* * *

**~K-ON!~**

"Yui-senpai…?"

Azusa softly knocked on the door of the older girl's room to check if she was still up.

The house seemed unusually quiet and she had expected the hyperactive brunette to be awake. Much to her disappointment, she received no response and sighed as she walked away.

_Ritsu-senpai AND Yui-senpai haven't made so much as a peep. Well, I know that it's a little past midnight, but they don't seem like the sort to go to sleep early. A person doesn't need to know them for long to know how they are._

The sound of a door closing alerted the younger girl to look behind her. The tall outline of the bassist could be seen approaching the door across from her own room.

_I bet Mio-senpai is also wondering why it's so quiet._

Mio softly knocked on the closed door before whispering,

"R-Ritsu, are you awake?"

Azusa smiled when she heard the bassist's anxious question. She walked quietly toward the girl and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Mio-senpai, I think she's asl-"

"AIIEEEEEE!"

The garnet-eyed girl stepped back slightly as her senpai let out a bloodcurdling shriek.

"M-Mio-senpai, calm down, it's just me," Azusa sweat dropped at the sight of the quivering bassist.

"O-oh, Azusa, why didn't you say so," Mio laughed nervously before looking around her.

"Yeah, it seems too quiet, doesn't it?" Azusa asked as she glanced around the empty hallway.

The villa's hallway seemed spookier at night since it was faintly lit up by the moonlight that filtered through the windows. A feeling of abandonment seemed to engulf the area as the two girls stood there in the silence.

"Hm, that is a bit strange. I mean last year we all slept in the same room and those two were up giggling half the night," Mio frowned slightly.

_Up half the night and now they're quiet…? That IS pretty weird._

"Well, let's not dwell on it too much, Mio-senpai! Why don't we go take a quick walk on the beach?" Azusa smiled.

She hoped that the older girl would agree because it would be good for her to spend quality time with the senpai she found to be most mature.

"Um, why not, maybe it'll help me relax a little? L-let's not go too far though, o-okay?" Mio laughed weakly, Azusa could see that she was trying to put up a brave front and smiled.

"We won't go too far! I don't feel sleepy right now, maybe walking will help me out," the younger girl said as she made her way toward the stairs.

Immediately as she made her way onto the first step, she felt the bassist's arm wrap around hers. A small smile worked its way onto Azusa's face as she silently laughed at the older girl's expected action.

_Oh Mio-senpai, if only Ritsu-senpai could see you now..._

_On second thought, no, she'd probably scare you._

Azusa shook her head and opened the front door. A warm salty breeze immediately embraced her as she stepped out.

"Ah, it's not so bad out, senpai," Azusa smiled before tugging the bassist along.

The two girls walked toward the beach and sat beneath the moonlit sky. The water seemed to glisten under the moonlight.

Azusa heard Mio shift next to her before glancing over.

"It's so...quiet today. It seems TOO quiet. With Sawako-sensei here, I expected Yui and Ritsu to be bouncing off walls, yet, this place is as quiet as a desert in the middle of the night," Mio softly whispered.

Azusa nodded in agreement before bringing up her knees and hugging them.

"I know what you mean, senpai. I feel like something's going to happen...it's like the calm before the storm, except there's no storm, it's just Ritsu-senpai and Yui-senpai," Azusa giggled.

"Those two are as bad as a storm," Mio softly stated.

The two girls looked at each other before they burst into laughter.

"Ah, we don't have the opportunity to talk to each other often. What with Ritsu and Yui taking the spotlight all the time and Mugi supporting them," Mio said after managing to stop herself from laughing further.

"Yeah, those two act like they're in their own little world sometimes. I'd love to know what goes through their head," Azusa whispered.

The sensation of her hair being ruffled led Azusa to glance at the bassist. Mio smiled before removing her hand from her head and glanced away.

"Do you ever get the feeling that they're hiding something?" Mio seriously asked.

Azusa allowed her garnet eyes to drift from her senior's face and glance at the sea. Sure, Yui and Ritsu were both wild, but she didn't really think that they were trustworthy enough to actually keep a secret.

"I think that if they had a secret, they would have blurted it out by now," Azusa replied.

"Maybe you're right, Azusa, but I don't know. I feel like there's this...tension," Mio trailed off as her grey eyes narrowed.

A soft rustling noise came from a nearby bush. Or at least Azusa THOUGHT she saw the bush move.

"...Mio-senpai, do you...?" Azusa asked.

Mio shakily nodded before clinging onto Azusa's arm again.

"R-Ritsu, if that's you, you better come out! I-I'm not joking," Mio angrily stuttered.

Azusa quickly stood up and tried to get the bassist to stand up with her. Mio's eyes were now wide with fear and the girl was trembling.

"Mio-senpai, it was probably an animal or something. Nothing to worry about," Azusa reassured while tugging Mio's arm.

"W-what if it's a b-barnacle?" Mio shakily asked.

_A what?...don't those only grow in the sea?_

"Mio-senpai, I don't think barnacles grow in dry land," Azusa weakly smiled.

This seemed to help Mio, whose fear seemed to die down at her words. Azusa could have sworn she heard the older girl saying that she was going to "kill Ritsu for lying to her and telling her that a specific bunch of local barnacles had adapted to the forest and crawled around at night."

_Silly Mio-senpai… She's still the most level-headed out of all of them though...I wish the others were like her..._

The phantom feeling of Yui's arms wrapping around her sent shivers through Azusa's spine.

_...but if they were all the same...they wouldn't have affected me as much as they have._

As the two girls made their way back to the villa, Azusa noticed that the bush nearest to the door rustled again.

_Is that really an animal...? Agh, Now I'M getting paranoid!_

Mio jumped and wrapped her arm tightly around Azusa's. The younger girl could feel the older trembling.

"It's okay, Mio-senpai, it's probably just an animal. We have to be logical about this. We are basically in the middle of nowhere," Azusa tried to calmly state, but the statement unnerved her.  
_  
All alone...if some crazy person were to come here we wouldn't have anyone to save us..._

Azusa felt Mio tug her toward the villa. The older girl quickly picked up her pace as they approached the doorway. The moment that the bassist tried to open the door, she gasped.

"A-Azusa did we lock the door on our way out by accident..?" Mio shakily whispered.

Azusa thought back and frowned. She clearly remembered being careful as to not lock the door so this wouldn't happen.

The sound of soft footsteps approaching led Azusa to turn around immediately.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Garnet eyes widened in shock as she took in the newcomer's appearance.

"M-Mio-senpai! Get away!" Azusa shouted as the figure lunged at the two of them.

_S-someone, help!_

* * *

**K-ON!**

"Ack!"

Yui fell onto her back and gasped. Ritsu had hit her hard enough for the air to be knocked out from her body.

She panted as fresh air rushed into her lungs before she rubbed her back.

"Oops sorry, Yui, that was a bit TOO hard," Ritsu sheepishly said as she reached over to pull her up.

Yui weakly nodded and wiped the sweat from her forehead. The two had been practicing for at least an hour and it had been rough enough for them to work up a decent sweat.

"Would you two like water?" Mugi worriedly asked as she held up two bottles.

Yui smiled at her and reached out to grab one. She quickly uncapped it and tilted her head back to let the cool liquid fall into her dry mouth.

A soft splash could be heard from next to her as Ritsu let the water spill onto her head.

"OI, Tainaka, I worked hard on those costumes! Don't just carelessly spill water on it!"

"I know I'm sorry, jeez Sawa-chan you're so sassy," Ritsu grumbled while capping the bottle in her hands.

"Back to training, Ricchan?" Yui asked as she looked at the refreshed looking drummer.

"Haha of course! We just need to-" Ritsu started but stopped.

Both Yui and Ritsu froze up and glanced behind them. Their ears had not deceived them after all, because there was Sawako, sitting at a table, taking notes while calmly sipping a cup of tea.

"EHHHH, M-Mugi-chan! Sawa-chan is in here! Our cover is blown!" Yui shouted as she and Ritsu grabbed onto each other.

"Oh no, Private, now we will never live this down!"

At the sound of Mugi's laughter, the two girls released each other.

"Don't worry, you two. Sawako-sensei has known from the beginning. Who do you think designed your clothes?" Mugi smiled.

"You guys can't figure out my work after 2 years of wearing it? Ah, that hurts, but alas, I'm still proud!" Sawako beamed.

The bespectacled woman walked over and smiled at the stunned girls.

"If only you two ran around as girls I'd have more fun with your costumes!" Sawako frowned and lifted her hands in defeat. She quickly smiled again before adding, "Though I see why you two need to go around as boys."

_So...from the start, Sawa-chan knew it was us…I wonder who else does._

"So you've known and haven't said anything..?" Ritsu blankly asked.

"Hohoho, of course! I think I deserve some sort of payment for keeping this secret!" Sawako mischievously grinned and flashed them a thumbs-up.

"Hehe, Sawa-chan if we help you find a boyfriend will that help?" Yui innocently asked.

The teacher dropped to her knees and placed her hands on the ground.

"Bad word choice, Yui," Ritsu whispered.

Yui sheepishly smiled and backed away from the scene. She lifted her arms and stretched before yawning.

"Oh my, it's growing rather late," Mugi whispered as her eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"Oh right! You guys should be careful not to leave the door unlocked when you leave the house!," Sawako scolded Ritsu and Yui before turning to Mugi, rubbing her head, and innocently asking, "Mugi-chan, I think I locked myself out of the house...you have a spare key, right?"

Ritsu and Yui sweatdropped at their instructor's contradictory statements before glancing back at Mugi as she went to reply.

"Of course, Sawa-chan, we'll head up soon! I just...want to talk to Yui-chan alone really quickly," Mugi softly spoke.

"Uh, well guess me and Sawa-chan will head up now then!" Ritsu said.

The drummer looked at Yui and Mugi before smiling and heading up the stairs.

"Please don't take too long, Mugi-chan! A woman needs her beauty sleep!" Sawako stated as she walked toward the door.

Yui watched quietly as the two disappeared into the doorway. She turned her brown eyes onto Mugi as the blonde suddenly grew crestfallen and sighed.

"What's wrong, Mugi-chan?" Yui softly asked.

Mugi trained her blue eyes onto Yui's brown and frowned. In her eyes, Yui could see a sadness that had not been as clear before.

"Don't you ever get tired of it, Yui-chan?"

"Get tired of what, Mugi-chan? Fighting?" Yui innocently asked.

"Well that and...Having your feelings unreturned," Mugi sadly whispered.

"B-but M-Mugi-chan, your feelings are returned! You know we all care for you just as much as you care for us!" Yui boldly stated.

The blonde blankly stared at her and blinked twice before bursting into laughter.

_Is that not what she meant...?_

Yui looked at Mugi with a frown on her face while trying to think about what could be bothering her.

"I just mean...that for example, I know that recently, you've grown feelings for Azusa-chan," Mugi whispered.

"U-uhm, but they're not strong!" Yui softly replied in defense.

A blush crept onto her face as Mugi stared at her.

"Even if they're not, Yui-chan, you can at least relate to what I'm going to say," Mugi whispered.

The blonde walked over to the table where Sawako had been sitting and took a seat.

Yui followed her and stood close to her. She kept her eyes trained on the blonde as she spoke.

"I-I don't know what to do anymore, Yui-Chan," Mugi said.

The blonde brought her hands up to her face and buried it in them. She took in a shaky breath before releasing it.

"I-I worry so much about the two of you doing what you do. Ricchan told me about what happened in the past and about the encounter. Which means that the Revolution is more dangerous than we thought," Mugi continued.

Yui merely nodded and took the seat across from the upset blonde.

"I-I can't bear to ever see the two of you get hurt and know that I supplied the tools that lead you to start. I-I know that now it's my father in charge of making your equipment, but it's only so you keep the attention away from him, and now I know the truth and...I can't do ANYTHING to help," Mugi's voice cracked as a tear slid down her cheek.

_Mugi-chan...you're hurting this much...?_

Yui reached over and gently pet the blonde's head.  
_  
But why didn't she say this with Ricchan around so we could both comfort her?_

"Mugi-Chan, I can't promise that it'll be okay, but at this point we are all in danger. It seems that just being tied to the mayor has targeted us," Yui whispered.

The blonde shakily nodded her head as more tears slid down her cheeks. Yui's heart broke at the sight of the composed blonde breaking down. She really had not known that she and Ritsu weren't the only ones suffering.

How had she ignored this the entire time…?

"I-I don't mean to make it sound like I don't care about you, Yui-chan...But it's Ricchan that I worry the most about," Mugi stated.

_And now I see why..._

"Ricchan is...reckless and just acts without thinking," Mugi carefully stated.

Yui watched as the blonde's face held a mix of endearing emotion and anxious.

"She really cares about others, but I'm scared that's what might hurt her in the end," Mugi continued.

Yui frowned and scratched her head. It was true that it was Ritsu who normally confronted the wrongdoers whenever they went out, but Yui had attributed it to due to her bravery.

"I think that Ricchan just wants this to be over soon, Mugi-chan," Yui hesitantly whispered.

"I know, Yui-chan, but now it's just killing me! Imagine...imagine if it was Ui-chan or Azusa-chan running around and putting herself in danger...how would YOU feel?" Mugi shakily replied.

Yui tensed up at the thought. She clenched her fist and glanced down at the table.

_I'm doing this so Ui and Azunyan will NEVER have to deal with this again._

"Exactly, Yui-chan, you're upset at the thought. Now you understand how I feel," Mugi rubbed temples and sighed.

_Mugi-chan...you really do care for Ricchan, don't you...?_

"Yui-chan, can you just promise me one thing to ease my worries?" Mugi softly whispered.

"...Of course, Mugi-chan, what is it?"

The blonde moved her eyes so they met Yui's and then bit her lip.

"Please promise me that when you're out there you'll be careful, but make sure that Ricchan won't do anything dumb," Mugi stated, but in her eyes Yui knew she was pleading.

A warm smile made its way up to Yui's face as she went to answer.

"Of course, Mugi-chan! I would never want Ricchan to be hurt and I wouldn't want you to be sad either. So I'll do my best!" Yui smiled and saluted her.

Mugi stared at her for a few seconds before beaming. With the blonde's change in demeanor, Yui felt the weight on her heart suddenly lift.

"Thank you so much, Yui-chan!" Mugi smiled as she stood up and went to hug her.

"Hehe, no problem, Mugi-chan," Yui giggled.

The two remained in the embrace for a few seconds until the sound of footsteps approaching led them to break apart.

There, standing by the doorway, Ritsu was heavily panting and shaking.

"G-guys, we have to hurry!" Ritsu yelled.

"What happened? What's wrong, Ricchan?!" Yui asked as she ran over to the drummer.

The brunette could see traces of tears in the drummer's eyes.

"T-they're gone," Ritsu shakily whispered.

"Who is?" Mugi worriedly asked.

Ritsu wiped away at her face and handed Yui a note.

The brunette frowned and glanced up at the obviously shaken drummer.

"T-the imposter k-knows we're here... H-he has Mio and Azusa."

* * *

A/N:  And thus, this chapter comes to an end...

I'm already working on the other one and hopefully I can get it out quickly. College is in on its way and it's going to be stressful xD

I'm most likely going to go back and edit old chapters (especially that really long one). I hope the length of this one was good enough though.

Thank you for taking the time to read BAS! Reviews and criticisms are appreciated!

Coming up next: Yui reads the note and the two take off into the night doing whatever it is heroes are supposed to do.

P.S. Haha, yes, the basement idea thing came to my mind when I watched Batman. I just LOVE that movie.

Have a nice one.

imuffinator out!


End file.
